First Kiss Wins
by escritoria
Summary: What happens when two-thirds of the Bad Touch Trio falls in love with the new Canadian transfer student? A competition, of course! Now it's a race to see which guy will be the first to steal a kiss. Who will the winner be? High school AU, Franada/Prucan, real names
1. Transfer Students This Way Come

**AN: Hey guys, welcome to First Kiss Wins! Sorry for the fail title... I can't do titles xD Thanks for reading anyway! Hope you enjoy!**

**Oh, and I'll do my best to keep the winner a secret until the last moment. Don't think just because this chapter is Prussia's POV that he's automatically the winner! France is still in the running too, I just thought Prussia's POV would be better for the first chapter.**

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><p>"Gil. Gil. <em>Gil<em>!"

"Oh, huh?" The albino teen looked up from the computer screen, his hypnotic red eyes reflecting its glow. "What's up?"

"I've been trying to get your attention for a small eternity," complained Francis. "What's gotten into you today?"

"I'm bored." Gilbert didn't bother with politeness—that wasn't how he worked. He said what he thought and he meant what he said. That got him into trouble a lot, but it was just a part of his awesomeness, and why tamper with perfection?

The Frenchman, with flowing gold hair to his shoulders and dreamy blue eyes, looked offended. "What's wrong with a quiet night at home once in a while?"

"Nothing, but it's not like we're doing anything even remotely awesome," griped Gilbert. "Since _somebody_ got put on house arrest."

Francis' perfect blonde brows drew together over a dark scowl. "That was not my fault!"

From the corner where he was sitting in a chair upside down, his back where his legs should be and vice versa, Antonio snorted. His wavy brown hair was falling back from where it usually rested across piercing lime-green eyes. "How wasn't that your fault, _amigo_? You got caught in the girls' dorms. Again. You're going to get expelled if you keep this up, _Francia_."

Francis waved the threat of being expelled away with an easy gesture. "Lighten up, _Espagne_! You're no fun at all since you started dating Lovina."

Toni spluttered angrily, jumping to his Lovina's defense. Like always. The guy was head-over-heels. Gilbert rolled his crimson eyes and turned back to surfing the web.

The three boys attended Hetalia High, a famous international boarding school. It boasted students and teachers from every corner of the globe. Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio were only a few representatives of the student body there, and they were all from different nations.

The three of them did, however, exist on the higher end of the attractiveness scale of the school. The trio was a menace—the girls were all warned away from the gorgeous Frenchman, German, and Spaniard, but none of them ever heeded the warnings. They all were wooed and won, but it inevitably ended the same. In heartbreak. Francis and Gilbert, at least, had never stayed with one woman for more than two months. Antonio seemed to have changed his ways since falling for Lovina—their relationship had been going on for a month already and he'd been single-mindedly chasing her for six months before that without seeing any other girls—but the others weren't looking to find anything permanent. Their main objectives in life were partying, getting drunk, and getting laid.

All activities that were suspended until Francis' house arrest to the dorm they shared ended.

The Spaniard sighed. He had always reminded Gilbert of a puppy—adorable and sweet, but not too bright. Well, it's not like Francis and Gilbert were A-earning students, but Toni seemed to lack even a scrap of common sense sometimes. And even _he'd_ been able to avoid being detected the last time he'd snuck into the girls' dorms at night. That had been eight months ago, before he'd started chasing after Lovina. Stupid Francis. It was rare that Gilbert was ever angry with his roommates and best friends, but he was today.

"At least something interesting's happening next week!" said Francis cheerfully, tossing a leg over the arm of his chair and flipping open a magazine he certainly wouldn't be allowed to keep if any of the teachers found out about it. Toni was still sulking, glowering at Francis for daring to insult his beloved Lovi.

"What's that?" Gilbert asked idly, hardly listening. His bird, Gilbird, fluttered down from his favorite rafter, chirping musically as he landed on his master's outstretched hand. Gil petted the little guy, more interested in him than what Francis had to say.

"New students," Francis said gleefully, eyes full of mischief. "And one of them's a girl!"

Oh. _Now_ Gil was paying attention. He let Gilbird fly off, offended at his master's inattention. "So, who are they? Where are they transferring from?" He was hoping for a German. German girls couldn't get enough of him.

"That's a long story," Francis said, leaning forward like he did when he had a story to tell. The Frenchman was the biggest gossip in the school. He hung around girls more often than any other guy, so it was to be expected that they'd talk, and anything somebody tried to withhold from him, he flirted out of them. If you wanted any information, any at all, you only had to talk to him and you'd be so well informed you'd walk away with your ears ringing. "They're twins, you see, but they were raised by different parents. The son was raised by his _papa_ in America, and the daughter was raised by her _mama_ in Canada. This is the first time they've seen each other in years! Interesting, no?"

Despite himself, Gilbert was a little compelled. Toni looked interested too—he scooted his chair closer to hear the story better.

"How'd they get in? Are their parents neurosurgeons or something?" Toni asked. "Paying one kids' tuition here is heavy, not to mention two." He glanced at Gilbert. "I mean, Gil and Ludwig's parents are filthy rich, so they can send two kids, but what do these guys do?"

"Onhonhonhon~" chuckled Francis, putting a finger to the side of his nose and leaning forward even farther. "That's the best part! The girl, she's a scholarship student! She's so smart that she managed to get in absolutely free. Her brother's not smart, but she wanted him to come with her for some reason, so the school board made an exception for them!"

Toni laughed. "I hope they're prepared to be the subject of gossip for a month."

"Does anyone know what they're like?" asked Gilbert.

"The boy's a football star—the American kind, you know, with the ridiculous shoulder pads and whatnot—and the girl, well, she has to be a total nerd, no? I mean, she was smart enough to get both herself and her brother in on scholarship!"

Gilbert turned back to his computer, already losing interest. Nerdy girls. Not awesome enough to warrant his attention. Not awesome enough at all.

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><p><strong>AN: I promise the future chapters will be longer, but my first chapters are always short. Please leave me reviews-they're my addiction, you know, and the more I get the sooner I update! Tell me if there's anything<strong>** you want to see and if I can I'll work it in. :D**


	2. Falling at First Sight

**AN: Here's where Maddie comes in! I hope I captured her and Alfred's twinly relationship right. I always wanted a twin! :D**

**I'm having so much fun writing about Francis' and Gilbert's hotness. Really, it makes my whole day to sit down and write this story. Maddie notices how hot they are a lot, but that doesn't mean she's like a pervert or anything. They're just so hot she can't help but notice!**

**Well, enjoy!**

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><p>Madeline Williams flinched her way down the hallway, hoping to avoid notice.<p>

Luckily, it wasn't hard, because at her side was the loudest, most obnoxious, most _American_ person in the school, possibly in the known universe. She faded right into the lockers with her brother next to her.

"E2!" Alfred declared loudly, waving his schedule over his head. Half of the students in the hallway looked at them like they were nuts. "That's where our next class is, Maddie! Let's go!" He grabbed her small, pale hand and dragged her along as he took off racing headlong down the hallway.

"Al! Al, slow down," she begged, trying to free her wrist. "Ouch! Please let go!"

As usual, her voice was too quiet for notice. "This is great! The school is so huge!" cried Alfred at the top of his voice. Maddie didn't think he had any other volume setting. He meant well, of course—she knew he cared about her, and felt bad that they'd never spent much time together even though they were twins. In fact, she could count on one hand the number of times they'd seen each other in the past seventeen years of her existence. Well, since her parents divorced, at least, but that had been when she was only two. She couldn't remember that time, but she knew for a fact that Alfred had even cried louder than her when they were born.

They were obviously twins. Alfred's skin was darkened from days of football under the summer sun and Maddie was pasty white from days spent inside with her books, but the similarities in their features was undeniable—they shared eyes as blue as a crisp winter sky, strawberry blonde hair, and faces with the same sort of bone structure. However, the similarities stopped at the surface level. Alfred was loud, outgoing, and sporty. Maddie was bookish, quiet, and introverted. They couldn't agree about what food was best, what TV shows to watch, which parent was nicest. They had hardly anything in common.

Despite all that, and despite the fact that Alfred was one of the most infuriating people she knew, Maddie loved him so much her chest hurt sometimes when she was without him. They were twins, after all! It hadn't been for lack of trying that they hardly saw each other. It was always a flight snowed out, a sick relative, or just the fact that their parents hated each other's guts. That's why she'd been on the verge of turning down the scholarship to Hetalia High School. If she took it, she'd be flown out here to this island and be even more isolated from her family, including her brother.

When they'd seen she was going to decline on her brother's account, the school board had made her an offer—apparently they were desperate to have her. So what if they offered her brother a scholarship too?

So that's how they both ended up here. All Alfred had to do was _not_ fail out and they'd finally get to have a brother/sister relationship based on seeing each other more than once every two to three years.

Maddie shook her hair over her face, hiding behind the golden screen as she followed Alfred into the classroom. It was already almost full, with kids of every ethnicity imaginable, speaking every tongue she could recognize and many she couldn't. She herself spoke French and English, and her ear caught snippets of the conversations going on in those two languages.

"Hey, are those two the new transfer students?"

"They definitely look new."

"Wow, they're exactly alike!"

"_Hey, Gil, Toni, those are the new students I was telling you about._" That last one was in French, and that made Maddie's head turn in that direction. She loved French—it had been her first language. Well, she'd learned French and English at the same time, but she considered French her native language because it was the one she spoke with her mama.

The guy who'd spoken was obviously natively French. He had wavy golden hair tied back in a short ponytail and a hint of stubble on his chin, with piercing blue eyes that were looking the twins up and down shamelessly. He had broad shoulders and impressive muscles, and looked very at ease in his skin, lounging across his chair with languid grace. His friends, Gil and Toni she supposed, made a mismatched trio with him. Maddie couldn't put her finger on their origins. One was slimmer than the Frenchman and had unruly chestnut curls, sweet lime-green eyes, and caramel skin; he had an easy smile and a sunny air about him, as though he took life easily and cheerfully no matter what happened. The other was an albino, with white hair and scarlet eyes, about as well-built as the French guy. He had a determined sort of face, like he meant the entire world to bend to suit his whims. Altogether they represented the three most tongue-tying individuals of the male race that Maddie had ever seen. The sweet-faced slim one would normally have been enough to make her blush just by looking at her, but it was the cool sapphire and startling crimson gazes of the other two that had her turning red.

The albino said something in a language she couldn't understand but could place by the way it sounded—German. That didn't mean he was German, but it definitely narrowed things down a bit.

The Frenchman responded with a cheeky grin, "_Yes, she's lovely… Shall we go introduce ourselves, gentlemen_?"

She could also tell what the slim one spoke but couldn't understand him—it was Spanish. That probably meant he was from Spain, since he looked so European. The words were foreign to her, but her knowledge of its sister language, French, and the look on his face were enough to tell he was declining.

The other two shrugged and stood, making their way over to the twins, who were still standing at the front of the room.

Maddie flushed and shrank into her brother's side, studying the rest of the room to avoid making eye contact with anyone, especially the two very good-looking men making their way towards her and her twin.

"Hello," said the blonde in a thick French accent. "I'm Francis Bonnefoy. It's a pleasure to meet you two." Somehow, even though he was speaking to both twins at once, he made it seem like his words were for Maddie alone. At least, that's what the look in his deep blue eyes was saying.

"Hey, Francis!" shouted Alfred. Maddie winced. _Way to make a good first impression_, she groaned internally. "I'm Alfred F. Jones of the good ol' US of A, and this here's my twin, Madeline Williams!"

"Is it now?" Francis peeked past Alfred's elbow to grin at Maddie. "It's a pleasure, _mademoiselle_. It's a rare day indeed when I have the opportunity to become acquainted with a young lady as lovely as you."

Alfred's friendly expression soured immediately. "Who's your friend?" he asked unkindly, scowling darkly at Francis. The American wore a plainly territorial look that screamed BACK OFF without any words necessary.

Maddie was, despite herself, flattered, so she smiled shyly at Francis to lessen the sting of her brother's rebuttal. Francis' answering grin was smoky and suggestive. Fingers tightening on her brother's arm, Maddie turned quickly to look at the albino. No need to give Francis the wrong impression. He was awfully forward, and it looked like he would act on very slight provocation.

The albino's smile was crooked and mischievous. Normally, albinos made Maddie a little nervous, but he was different than most she'd seen. He didn't look sickly like most with his condition; his pasty skin and disconcerting eyes were counterbalanced by obvious muscles under his tight-fitting T-shirt and a grace to his movements. "I'm Gilbert Beilshmidt," he introduced himself with a confident grin, tossing a lock of white hair out of his eyes. They were almost hypnotic. "How are you liking Hetalia High so far?"

"It's awesome!" cried Alfred.

"I like it so far," Maddie said more quietly. "The grounds are beautiful."

Gilbert directed his smile towards her. "They got more beautiful the second you stepped onto them, Birdie," he said with a wink.

_Birdie? What's that all about?_ Maddie flushed and shrank into Alfred's side. Her brother put a protective bomber-jacket-clad arm around her shoulders and stared Francis and Gilbert down angrily.

"Hey, bug off, would ya? She doesn't need any of your crap on her first day at this school," Alfred warned with a glare.

Francis smiled and said smoothly, "Just being friendly, _mon ami_. I'm sorry if we gave the wrong impression." Gilbert looked like he wanted to say something more aggressive, but his friend caught his arm and gave him a pointed look.

The albino shot one last glance at Maddie. "Nice meeting you," he finally said, and allowed Francis to lead him back to where their other friend, Toni, was waiting.

Maddie claimed a seat at the very front of the room and tried to focus on what the teacher was saying. Alfred sat behind her, but his bomber jacket wasn't enough to deflect the hard red and blue stares she could feel drilling into her through the whole class.

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><p><strong>AN: Reviews? Pretty pretty please? :D<strong>


	3. First Kiss Wins

**AN: Hey guys! Sorry it's been such a long time since I updated. I usually don't take this long, but school has just been crazy!**

**Anyway, this chapter is where the competition officially starts. I must say, I'm loving me some Bad Touch Trio banter! Francis is so cool and collected with his teasing and Gilbert just flies off the handle :P I love it! And my Spamano :3 I know it's like an afterthought to the real event, which is getting the competition started, but it's just so CUTE! I love Spamano, it has become one of my most favorite pairings evah! (aside from USUK and GerIta and AusHun and FrancexJeanne and SealandxLichtenstien which is my headcanon... okay I'll leave it at that because this list could get pretty long xD)**

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><p>Francis, Gilbert, and Antonio always ate lunch together. It was an unspoken rule. When one moved to sit with someone else, the whole trio followed. Francis and Gilbert could be seen among Antonio's friends on the football team and no one would comment; Gilbert and Antonio weren't an uncommon sight among the school newspaper staff with Francis. But today, the trio was dangerously close to breaking up and eating lunch separately, breaking a tradition that began their very first day at the school.<p>

"Why don't you shave? You look like a hobo with your long hair and stubble. It's so unawesome!" complained Gilbert. "I don't want to be seen with a hobo."

Francis tossed his ponytail with a disdainful sniff. "As if anyone could mistake this gorgeousness for a hobo! And you're just jealous because you can't grow a beard at all!"

Gilbert's eyebrows beetled with anger. "Don't you dare go there."

"It's not your fault, _mon ami_! No need to be ashamed."

"I'll kill you if you say the words."

"Say what? Oh, you mean—"

"_I'm not joking with you, you stupid frog_!"

"Delicate body hair," Francis chuckled gleefully.

Gil's eyes could have been transplants from a demon. "WHY YOU LITTLE—"

"_DIOS MIO_!" Both Gilbert and Francis shut up mid-insult, shocked by Antonio's outburst, especially since he had Lovina tucked under his arm right now (she looked grudgingly happy about that). It took a lot to upset Toni to the point of yelling, especially when his Lovi was around. The sullen Italian looked like she wanted to disappear and like she was about start smiling, a rare occurrence for her, at the same time. She glared death at anybody who dared to notice her under Antonio's arm, but she had an arm clutched around his waist as if afraid he'd let go.

Antonio had no such intentions, but he wasn't focusing on his girlfriend for once. "What is wrong with you two? You've been at each other's throats since this morning!"

Francis and Gilbert shot each other dirty looks, like two strange cats passing each other in an alley, not a pair of best friends. Antonio growled in frustration. "See, this is what I mean! What made you two get mad at each other anyway?"

Gilbert knew what had made him upset, but he wasn't about to admit it until the stupid frog did. Especially not after the crack about his body hair. It wasn't his fault. Albinos just had fine hair, and his skin was already so pale that it hardly showed. He had hair! _Awesome_ hair!

Francis shot a glare at Gilbert and sniffed disdainfully. "I'm hungry."

"Fatty," snapped Gilbert.

"I beg to differ, my dear Gilbert," Francis said cheerfully, setting out his meal. It could have gone unnoticed in any gourmet restaurant in Paris. "All the action I get keeps me thin." His lips curled into his creepy perverted grin.

"As if you get any more than the awesome me," Gilbert said with an eye-roll. "Especially since you're on house arrest."

The Frenchman's smile refused to waver. In fact, it widened, and somehow became even more evil. "I bet I'll still get into Madeline Williams' pants before you."

Suddenly the scene before Gilbert's eyes seemed like it was tinged with red. His knuckles whitened as he tightened them into a fist around the brown bag containing his lunch. "No way. She's way too classy to sleep with a sleazebag like you." Part of him wondered why he was reacting this way—he never fought with Francis over girls. But the thought of Madeline and Francis together made something snap inside him, and he couldn't help but be furious.

"Onhonhonhonhon~," Francis chuckled, totally unaffected by the accusation of being a sleazebag. "Poor little Gilbert. So jealous."

"Oh. I see." Antonio sat down on the bench and pulled Lovina onto his lap. Still glaring at anyone who looked at her, the little Italian leaned into his chest and placed a furtive kiss on his collarbone. Toni beamed at her and stroked her cheek, making her flush tomato-red and avert her eyes from him. He didn't notice—he was used to her standoffishness in their relationship. Instead he stayed focused on his roommates. "You guys are fighting over that transfer student?"

"No we're not," snapped Gil. "I'm just sick of him drooling over anything in a bra."

Francis scoffed. "As if you can talk, _mon ami_. You were drooling just as much as me. Birdie? Where did that come from anyway?"

Gil flushed despite himself. That was just the name that had popped into his head the second he saw her. She reminded him of Gilbird. Just as light and delicate and golden. And beautiful, in a dorky sort of way. The way she hid behind her brother, how she'd peered up at him through her glasses, the intelligence and hesitation in those eyes, wider and bluer than any ocean he'd ever seen… He'd been sadly mistaken in thinking she wasn't awesome enough to warrant any attention.

"I think it suits her."

Francis rolled his eyes. "Well, in that case, I'll capture your little birdie first."

Gilbert was crushing his lunch. "_Nein_! No way I'm going to let you get your slimy hands on her!"

"Oh, but your slimy hands are okay? Face it, Gil, you're not exactly clean when it comes to women," Francis reminded him.

Halfway through formulating a comeback, Gilbert realized he really didn't have any. He was just as much of a player as Francis, and he _wasn't_ clean when it came to women. Francis knew it, too. He grinned smugly.

"She'll be mine," he said in a singsong. "Lovely little Maddie will be all mine!"

"Not if I make her mine first!" Gilbert snapped.

Infuriatingly, Francis' smirk widened. "So it's a competition then."

"A competition."

Toni groaned. Lovina snapped angrily, "Don't drag this poor girl into your stupid little alpha dog fight. I'm sure she has enough to deal with, what with that moronic brother of hers."

"Toni, tell your girlfriend to stay out of this!" Lovina spluttered angrily and began swearing violently at Gilbert. He blocked her out. How was Antonio so in love with such an angry little viper like her?

"So, first one to get in her pants wins?" Francis asked.

"Are you stupid? Or do you just have a death wish? Her brother's a linebacker who obviously doesn't like us," Gilbert reminded the Frenchman. "We'd just be asking for pain."

Francis rolled his eyes. "Where's the fun in it if I don't get to sleep with her?"

"I'm just saying we shouldn't rush that part," Gil said. Honestly, if he didn't see a bed in the end result, he wouldn't agree to it either, but for some reason he felt like that wasn't right in this case. Strange. He'd never had a problem with it before. But he couldn't imagine Maddie like that. She was so…_perfect_. Like a china doll, or a princess. Too classy to be seen just as a sex object. She seemed like a girl that needed to be treated with respect.

"How about a kiss, then? And I don't mean a lame little peck." Francis grinned, dirty fantasies dancing behind his eyes. "Like the kind my country is known for."

"Deal. First to make out with Maddie is the winner," Gilbert said, nodding.

Antonio rubbed his eyes with the hand that wasn't restraining Lovina. She was cursing at him too, now, for holding her back from smashing Gilbert's face. It was always shocking when those words came out of such a cute girl. But then again, her parents _were_ in the Mafia. That's how they'd been able to afford to send a pair of kids to Hetalia High, just like Gil's own parents (except _they'd_ come by their fortune cleanly). According to Francis' gossip, Lovina slept with a pistol under her pillow, and Gilbert could believe it without having to squint at all.

Gil and Francis ate lunch on opposite sides of their usual bench. Francis was cheerful and happy-go-lucky as usual, but Gilbert was seeing red all through lunch (and not just because of his eyes). He couldn't get this horrible image of Francis kissing Madeline out of his head, and every time he forced it out of his brain, it just came back stronger.

_No way that's happening. I'm going to win, or I'm not the awesome Gilbert Beilshmidt!_ he vowed to himself. _Just have to stay on her brother's good side. _That was sort of an afterthought, even though he could potentially die if Alfred decided Gilbert wasn't good enough for his twin.

And so he began formulating a plan for how to win Madeline Williams, wondering why dying in the process didn't really seem like too much of a sacrifice.

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><p><strong>AN: :D Yay for Maddie not being a sex object! *applauds while she blushes* Reviews for me? Please? I love them! The more I get the sooner you will get an update! :D<strong>


	4. The Language of Love

**AN: FRANCIS TIME! :D Watch out ladies~**

**I think I'm having too much fun with this... But the Bad Touch Trio is really becoming a favorite of mine!**

**What's weird is that I actually really like Canada as a guy though... I just had to fem!ify him so that France and Prussia could fight over him x3 But I love Canada so much! If I could marry him... Oh boy. Canadians had better watch out.**

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><p>Maddie's new room was full of boxes and suitcases she hadn't gotten around to unpacking yet. The only thing she'd done so far was open up a box of clothes so she could get dressed that morning and make the bed so she had somewhere to sleep. Unfortunately, she'd been too busy to unpack any farther.<p>

Sighing, Maddie closed her door on the mess. As little as she liked leaving her room messy, she had no time to unpack now.

The dorm was pretty simple—two bedrooms with a communal living area in between, with a living room, a kitchen, and a restroom off to the side. Ugly scratchy school-provided brown couches hulked grumpily in the living room, looking like bears about to rear up and attack someone, and the kitchen could have come straight out of the sixties, but it was a nice little space altogether. Once she put covers on the couches and cleaned the kitchen, it would be very cute and homey.

Her roommate had been living there for a year before Maddie arrived. Her name was Brittany Kirkland—Britt for short—and she was from England. It hadn't taken long for Maddie to classify Britt as the prickly sort, but she seemed nice enough despite eyebrows that made it seem like she was always glaring.

Britt hadn't done much with the place. She didn't seem much like the homemaker sort. Maddie was almost glad for that. That way she couldn't object to Maddie's attempts to make the space look more lived in.

The blonde-haired green-eyed Brit was sitting at the kitchen table now with her homework spread out before her. Maddie joined her. Even though it was only her first day, she had plenty of homework since she'd come in at the middle of a school year like she had.

_I just hope Alfred's doing his_, she thought worriedly. _It would be awful if he made a bad impression on his teachers on top of everyone else… Maybe I should go check on him._

"How late can girls visit the boys' dormitories?" asked Maddie quietly. She always spoke quietly.

"Hmm?" Britt looked up distractedly. "Oh. Thinking of visiting your dimwitted brother?"

"Yeah." Maddie wasn't at all phased by the insult to her brother. It was pretty true. Rude of Britt to say, yes, but true.

"The girls have to leave the guys' dorms by eight," Britt said, chewing on her eraser as she stared uncomprehendingly at a page of Algebra II homework. "Hey, Canada, could you help me with this problem?"

"Sure." Maddie leaned over to show Britt how to do the problem. It hadn't taken Britt long to catch onto the fact that Maddie was practically a genius. Well, not a genius, but she only had to see something done once to replicate it, and she was very good at the analytical thinking required for independent study.

Britt had also started with the nickname within a few minutes of meeting her. Apparently, here at Hetalia High, where everyone was from a different country, it was common to call people by their home country's name. So Maddie was Canada, Alfred was America, Britt was England, and so on. It was pretty convenient, actually, if you couldn't remember someone's real name.

After she was sure Britt had the concept down, Maddie checked the clock on the stove. It read 6:30. "I'm going to run down to the boys' dorms and see my brother, okay? I'll be back soon.

"All right," Britt said, waving her off without looking up from her homework. "Just be back by nine, okay? I don't want the security guards dragging you back here for being out past curfew."

"I will," Maddie said, tugging on her favorite battered pair of Converse and grabbing her key before she left.

The boys' and girls' dorms were situated on opposite ends of the campus, but it wasn't a long walk—maybe five or ten minutes. She should know. She'd had to run back and forth between the two when she'd moved in last night and found a ton of Alfred's crap in what few boxes she got to unpack. She wasn't even sure how so much of his stuff ended up in her boxes—they hadn't even lived together, for goodness sakes! But he'd managed to leave something at her house every time he visited for the last fifteen years, and she'd never gotten around to sending it back, so maybe that was why she'd had it.

The night was a little chilly; autumn was setting in quickly and early. The trees were already turning crimson and gold and brilliant orange, although this late it was hard to make out the colors against the night sky.

She unlocked her phone and scrolled through her text messages to find the one containing Alfred's dorm number.

_Here it is_. **Im in dorm 2 with some guy named Ludwig. His last names so long its kinda hilarious XD**

Dorm 2. She could remember that. Clicking the lock button on her phone, she slipped it into the pocket of her overlarge red Canada hoodie. A sudden wave of homesickness washed over her. On an impulse, she brought the sleeve to her nose and took a deep sniff of the smells of home.

Nostalgia threatened to consume her. She missed her mama already. She and her mama had been really close—they'd only had each other growing up. They'd never really had much to live on, and that was why her mama had encouraged Maddie to work hard at school—so she could go to college and make a better life for them.

Maddie found herself in front of the doors to the boy's dorm, but they were blurry. It took her a moment to realize that she was crying.

Backing into the shadows to hide until she could compose herself, Maddie swiped at the tears. Truthfully, she hadn't wanted to leave home, not really. But she loved her mama, and didn't want her to have to work so hard. So maybe if she came here, living on scholarship, her mama could have a bit of a better life, not having to support a daughter.

"Arte you alright, _ma chere_?" asked a familiar voice. Maddie looked up to see that French boy from earlier today—Francis. He was looking at her with concern in his amazing clear blue eyes, one hand on the doorknob as if he'd been just about to go inside before he noticed her. The other hand held a convenience store bag. "Are you lost? Or hurt?"

"No, no," she said, swiping at her eyes furiously. Why did she have to break down like this in front of a cute boy? Now that they were alone, she got the chance to get a better look at him. He was a good six or eight inches taller than her, and had wide shoulders and muscles that his tight-fitting T-shirt was definitely doing nothing to hide. His blonde waves of hair were loose now, falling to his chin. He was handsome enough to make her blush just by standing there. To distract him from her tears, she slipped intentionally into French. "_I'm fine_."

His eyes widened with pleasure. The sight of his crooked grin made her stomach stir with butterflies. "_You speak French? How delightful!_"

"_Yes, I'm from Canada and I always used to speak it with my mama,_" she replied. Despite her best efforts to compose herself, her voice broke on the last syllable.

Francis smiled sympathetically, turning fully towards her. "_Ah. You miss your mama, no? And your home in Canada?_"

The red tint to her cheeks deepened. "_Yes, I do… My mama and I were like best friends_."

"_But you have your brother, yes? That makes it better._" Startlingly, he reached out and brushed his fingers across her cheek. Warm tingles chased the paths of his fingers on her skin. "_You're beautiful when you blush, my dear._"

"_T-thank you_," she stammered, taken off guard by his easy compliment. She'd never have anyone compliment her like that, with no trace of irony or insincerity. "_Yes, having Alfred does make it better. That's why I refused to come without him…but he's not mama._"

Understandingly, Francis nodded. "_Well, there's plenty of nice girls here you could make friends with_," he said brightly. "_If you want a motherly type, try talking to Elizaveta. I could introduce you. She's my best friend Antonio's girlfriend's roommate._"

"_Was he the Spanish boy?_" she asked. "_What about Gilbert?_"

"_We're kind of a trio_," Francis chuckled. "_Gil, Toni, and me. I'm the best-looking, but don't tell the others that—it'll ruin their self-esteem_," he added with a wink that made Maddie's heart skip.

"_I'll keep it to myself_," she promised with a laugh. Francis was very forward, and definitely not ashamed to admit his admiration of her, but she liked him. He was certainly very gentlemanly and courteous. Suddenly she remembered why she'd come. "_Oh, no, I need to go see my brother before visiting time is up_."

Francis opened the door for her, sweeping a bow that somehow didn't look cheesy at all when he did it. "_After you, my dear_."

"_Thank you_." She stepped into the warm dormitory, then turned back to Francis. "_It was nice seeing you again. I hope we get another chance to talk soon._"

"_I do as well_," he said. His large hand caught hers and he raised her knuckles to his lips. Just the barest kiss brushed across the back of her hand, making her heart rate go nuts. "_Until next time, my dear_."

Maddie turned pink again, but he had already vanished into his dorm—Dorm Room 1. _Why am I bothering remembering?_ she wondered to herself as she felt the information click into her brain. _It's not like I'm ever going in there._

But she had to admit… There was definitely something about Francis Bonnefoy that made her knees go weak.

o~O~o

"Ah!" sighed Francis, dumping the convenience store bag of their usual treats on the kitchen table. "My friends, I think I'm in love," he declared, falling back on the couch where his homework was sitting, ignored. His mind was too full of Madeline to focus on homework. Her quiet mannerisms were cute, and she was so delicate and fragile. The way she hid in that overlarge hoodie of hers was just adorable! It made him grin to think about the curves hinted at underneath the red fabric; but just as captivating were her blue eyes as wide as the sky, her porcelain skin, and her slender piano-player's hands. And she spoke French, the noblest of all tongues! She was a lady, a princess, to be admired and protected. A lady like her deserved a reverent lover. Francis would be very happy to fill the role.

Immediately Gilbert was all ears. "What? Is it Maddie? Did you see her?"

Antonio rummaged through the bag and pulled out the bag of chips Francis had bought him. Before he opened it he tossed Gilbert his beer with a, "Heads up, _Prusia_."

Gilbert caught the can easily, but he was still staring Francis down with a glare that could have unnerved a stampeding elephant. "Was. It. Maddie."

"Madeline, so lovely. She speaks French, you know," Francis said in a singsong.

Gilbert blinked. Gilbird landed on his head and began pecking about in his white hair, but the eaglet went unnoticed.

"And everyone knows French is the language of love!" crowed Francis triumphantly. "Why you can make love in French just by speaking!"

"No you can't, Francis," Gil said, rolling his eyes and swiveling his chair back around to face his homework. "You just wish there was a way you could have sex just by talking."

"The poor darling is homesick," sighed Francis. "And French is the language she used to speak with her mama. Who knows? Perhaps I'll remind her of home. The warm comforts of home… A soothing embrace… Maybe she had a lover back home who whispered sweet nothings to her in _Francois_?"

"You're a first-class idiot, _Frankreich_," Gil said, draining his beer and crumpling the can easily.

"What can I say? I'm crazy in love." Francis hummed to himself, daydreaming about some scandalous things.

Gilbert got up, tossed his can, and put on his coat. "I'm taking a walk," he announced. "I'll be back before curfew, most likely."

Francis sat up, staring Gil down. "I'm coming too."

"You just walked down to the convenience store," Gilbert said in an unfriendly tone, glaring at Francis.

"What of it?" _I won't let him win Madeline_, he thought. The force of his own fury at the idea of Gilbert and Maddie together made him blink. But the image of the two of them, of the German putting his rough, angry hands on _his_ princess… It made his stomach knot with disgust and anger.

"You should get your homework done."

"Who cares about homework?" The albino blinked at the venom in Francis' voice. He was rarely ever angry, and never showed it even when he was.

Toni spoke up. "You should really do it, _amigo_," he said. "You're already on thin ice, what with being on house arrest last week."

As easygoing as Francis was, in his mood he was even irritated at his Spanish friend. Unfortunately, though, he was speaking sense, which was why Francis was frustrated. If Francis got on house arrest again, he would lose to Gilbert for sure.

With a sigh, he lay back down and flipped open a textbook. "Have fun on your walk, Gilbert," he grumbled.

The albino looked smug. "Thank you."

It took all of Francis' self-control to stay there on the couch and watch Gilbert leave. Obviously he was going to wait for Maddie to come out, and then hit on her in his blunt, un-chivalrous German way. She deserved so much better than that crude, genetically freakish Neanderthal.

Turning on some salsa music to dispel the stuffy atmosphere, Toni peered at Francis curiously. "Do you really like her that much, _Francia_?"

"Of course." Francis looked up. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." The Spaniard ate a chip thoughtfully and scribbled an answer down on his homework page. "Do you think you two just want Maddie because the other does?"

"No," Francis said with a glare. "When have I ever intruded on Gil's relationships? Usually when both of us want the same girl, one of us just backs down and gets to pick up the pieces of her broken heart when the other leaves her. But this time it's different."

"Because you don't think he'd dump her if he won, do you?" Toni asked quietly.

"No." Francis' voice was just as soft. He couldn't imagine anyone ever ending a relationship with such a sweet, adorable little princess like Madeline Williams.

He knew he wouldn't. Ever.

That thought came as a shock. It was so strong, so full of conviction. He'd joked about it not five minutes ago, but until that thought had crossed his mind, he hadn't fully believed that he might really be in love with Madeline Williams.

But now… Well, he was French. He knew love when he felt it. And what was in his heart right now just couldn't be anything else.

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><p><strong>AN: I think France and Prussia are distinctly different in the way they see Maddie. France thinks of her like a princess who needs to be romanced, and Prussia thinks of her like a china doll that needs to be protected. But they both think that, by winning, they'd be protecting her from the other. Which is really cute if you think about it ^^ No other girl has been important enough to them to make them want to save her from getting her heart broken. *musings of a die-hard romantic*<strong>

**Reviews please! France fans, represent!**


	5. Birdie

**AN: Long chapter this time, guys :D Hopefully this makes up for how long it took me to update... Lo siento muchisimo! Anyway, this chapter has my little GerIta moment in it, which I shall enjoy very much. While it lasts. It's not looking like there's going to be a ton of GerIta in this one *pouts* But there will be plenty of Spamano, which makes up for it :D Go tsunderes!**

**Please remember to review, even if you have flames. I want to get any kind of feedback you can give! Well, on to the story now:**

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><p>"Al?" Maddie knocked on the door to Dorm 2. "Al! Open up! It's Maddie!"<p>

The door swung open, but it wasn't her twin who stood inside. It was a very scary-looking blonde guy with the most piercing eyes she'd ever seen, in a shade of cold electric blue she wouldn't have believed possible if she wasn't staring into it like a bird caught in the gaze of a snake. They were nothing like the molten sapphire of Francis' eyes, or the mischievous azure blue of her brother's. He wore his hair slicked back severely, as if he was daring a single hair to fall out of line, and his face was all harsh angles. Before now, she'd never known a high schooler with a face that would have sent small children running, but that had ended today. Yet there was something oddly familiar about him…

"Hello," he said courteously. "Can I help you?"

"Oh," she squeaked, shrinking farther into her overlarge hoodie and shaking her falls of blonde hair over her face to hide from his drill-bit eyes. "Um, I'm looking for my brother?"

"You're Alfred's twin?" the bluff-faced boy asked incredulously. When she blushed he backtracked, coughing self-consciously. "I'm sorry, I meant no offense, but… You're much _quieter_ than I expected."

She grimaced. "Yeah, I get that a lot."

"Come in," he said, motioning her inside. "I think he's in the kitchen."

Maddie wasn't sure what she expected to find—maybe army barracks. Who knew? This guy was born to be a drill sergeant. Instead, she found an almost identical replica of her own room, but with green couches instead of brown. They looked just as scratchy and lumpy, but the color made the room seem less oppressive.

Alfred was sitting at the kitchen table, which was a mirror image of her own but with different patterns of scratches and scuffs, headbanging to the music coming from the iPod plugged into his ears as he scribbled down answers to Algebra II homework. His back was to her, and she didn't call attention to herself, so he didn't realize that she was there.

She sighed in relief. "Oh, good, he's working."

The army-guy chuckled. His laugh was kind of nice, especially when compared with his terrifying appearance. Maybe he wasn't so scary after all. "Were you checking up on him?"

"Yes," she admitted. "I don't want him to get expelled."

"Don't worry. I'll make sure he stays on task for you," he offered.

"Thanks," she said gratefully. "I'm Maddie Williams, by the way. I never really formally introduced myself."

"Ludwig Beilshmidt," he said, offering a rough hand to shake. When she took it his fingers engulfed hers.

"Beilshmidt?" she asked. The name tugged at her memory.

"Ah," Ludwig sighed. "I see you've already run afoul of my big brother."

All at once she recognized how he'd seemed familiar. "You're Gilbert's brother?" Gilbert had less severe features, and was longer and lankier, but she could definitely see a similarity in the shapes of their mouths and eyes and their sharp square jaws.

"Sadly, yes. He's a year older than me, but he doesn't act it. I'm the one looking after him most of the time."

"He seemed nice," Maddie offered.

"Yes, he's nice, but hardly responsible," Ludwig said, rolling his eyes. "He needs someone to keep him grounded, but his roommates are both as scatterbrained as he is. Or they just choose to ignore rules."

Maddie was appalled by this. She'd never broken a rule in her life. She was the kind of girl who'd always gotten perfect marks in school and was devastated by anything less; was sixteen and had never had a boyfriend, much less been kissed; and made it her responsibility to look after everyone and everything she could take under her wings at one time. But then again, teenage boys could hardly be expected to possess enough brains to remember all the rules at once.

"I'm glad Alfred has a roommate that will keep him in line," Maddie said, smiling at Ludwig. "I can already tell I'm going to be the responsible one in my dorm."

"Who did you get as a roommate?" Ludwig inquired.

"Britt Kirkland."

"Whoa! Is that that smokin' hot British chick?" Alfred demanded loudly, sucked out of homeworkland by the name. How he'd heard her over his music, Maddie would never know—she could hear it clearly from the doorway. It was a miracle his eardrums hadn't given out yet.

"Well, she's British," Maddie replied frankly.

Suddenly the door to the dorm burst open and a blur of motion streaked past Maddie shrieking, "GERMANYYY~!"

Ludwig's eyes widened a second before the blur hit him square in the chest, making him stagger back a step before he caught himself. Then Maddie realized the blur had been a girl, and Ludwig was holding her by the elbows as she panted.

"What is it, Feliciana?" he asked. He handled the girl gingerly, but his cheeks had the slightest red overcoat. "You know it's almost curfew."

The girl looked up at him with wide golden eyes. She had beautiful long copper hair and a sweet, guileless face, the total opposite of Ludwig's intimidating countenance. She was slender and short, the top of her head barely coming up to Ludwig's shoulders, and a single curl sprung from the left side of her head. All in all, she was the cutest, most idiotic-looking girl Maddie had ever seen, but it was impossible not to like her just by taking one look at her.

"Ludwig, _Sorella_ said my teacher's gonna give me detention if I eat pasta in class anymore!" she wailed, burying her face in Ludwig's chest. "But how can I not eat pasta? It's so yummy, ve~!" Maddie couldn't believe that this was the girl's most pressing concern at the moment.

Alfred snickered behind his hand. "Luddie's got a girl!" he giggled.

"Are you five?" asked Maddie with a hopeless sigh, irritated by her brother's idiocy.

"Feli, you know we're not supposed to eat in class," admonished Ludwig gently. "Just save your pasta for lunch and you won't get detention. You hear me?"

Feliciana nodded miserably. "Yes, Ludwig…" she sighed.

The German looked uncomfortable. "Come now, don't be sad…"

"Oh, I'm not sad, I just like pasta, that's all!" Feli said brightly, her mood switching back to cheerfulness at the drop of a pin. Maddie got the feeling that it was hard for Feli to be sad for longer than a few seconds.

"I know," Ludwig said, rolling his eyes helplessly.

"I know you know!" Feli exclaimed. Then she bounced up on her tiptoes and kissed Ludwig sweetly. "Thanks Ludwig!"

Maddie's eyebrows climbed to her hairline and Alfred began having hysterical laughing fits he was trying hard to hide. It really wasn't unexpected, considering how familiar Feliciana had been with Ludwig and how gently he'd been handling her, without pushing her away. But his reaction to her kiss was funny—he turned completely red and looked like he wanted the floor to open up and swallow him at the same time as he looked like he was floating on cloud nine.

Still red, Ludwig cleared his throat. "Um. Alfred, Maddie, this is my…" He trailed off, reddening even more.

"Girlfriend!" Feliciana finished brightly. "I'm Feliciana Vargas, from _Italia_! It's so good to meet Ludwig's new roommate!"

"Nice to meet you, Feliciana," Maddie said, smiling at Feli. "I'm Madeline Williams, or Maddie."

"And I'm Alfred F. Jones the amazing!" announced Alfred at the top of his lungs. "But you can just call me Captain America if you want!"

Feli giggled. "Oh, okay! And you guys can call me Feli cuz any friend of Ludwig's is mine too!" She wound her fingers through Ludwig's, seeming not to notice his awkwardness at her touch.

Maddie glanced askance at Alfred. "Captain America?"

"Yeah, dude! Y'know how everyone calls each other by their country names here? Well I'm from America, and I would make such a friggin awesome superhero that I should have a superhero name, right?"

"You know your logic makes absolutely no sense, right?" Maddie asked, massaging her temples. Her brother must not realize what a literal headache he was at times.

Feliciana giggled, swinging Ludwig's hand. "Alfred, you're silly." Then she looked at Ludwig. "Hey Ludwig, can we go to your room?" she asked innocently.

Alfred snorted with poorly concealed laughter as Ludwig turned explosively red. "Uh, I think it's a little late…" he stuttered.

"Aww," Feli said, face falling. "Does that mean I have to go home?"

"I think so."

"Walk me there?" Big golden eyes implored him. "Please?"

Ludwig sighed. "Fine." He looked up at his roommate and Maddie. "_Guten nacht_, Maddie. It was nice meeting you."

"Thanks, you too," Maddie replied.

Feli waved. "_Ciao_~, Alfred, Maddie! I hope we can be very best friends!"

The Canadian found herself smiling, as helpless as Ludwig to resist Feli's childish innocence. At first it had seemed strange, but it really was no wonder Feli had been the one to touch Ludwig's distant heart. She was irresistibly cute—you couldn't help but like her.

The unlikely couple vanished out the door, leaving Maddie and her twin alone. She turned to him and said, "Well, I was just checking up on you. Making sure you're doing homework and all."

"Pshh," he huffed. "Of course I am, sis! No sweat. Imma have a clean slate here, scout's honor! So that means I do my homework and don't get detention!"

She looked at him dubiously. "Were you even a boy scout?"

"Heck yeah! Eagle Scout, baby! I can untie any knot you put in front of me and start a campfire in the pouring rain. I totally got this school thing!"

"Well, if you say so…" She headed towards the door. "I have to go, then. I don't want to be caught out past curfew."

"See ya little sis!" Alfred waved.

When Maddie stepped outside, the first thing she noticed was the eldest Beilshmidt brother. He was leaning against the wall across from the door, listening to an iPod even louder than Alfred had been, but when he saw her he grinned and tugged the headphones out of his ears.

"Hey, Birdie," Gilbert said. "What are you doing visiting my baby bro?"

"Well, Alfred's his new roommate," Maddie explained, trying not to stare at him. What if he thought she was a weirdo, or got offended that she was staring? It wasn't that she thought he looked strange—really, if anything, his monochrome skin and hair made him look exotic. And his crimson eyes… Well. They were positively hypnotic. She could have sat there staring into them for hours. "I was just checking up on him to make sure he was doing his homework." She paused as a thought occurred to her. "Um… What are you doing here?"

"Just stepped out for a little fresh air," he said casually. "It gets a little… Well, stuffy in there."

"Aren't your roommates your best friends, though? That's what Francis told me." Worriedly, Maddie surreptitiously checked the time on her phone. It was almost eight. Hopefully Gilbert wouldn't be in a chatty mood. She'd never been in trouble, ever, and wasn't about to start on her first day here.

Even though she'd tried to be circumspect, he noticed her concern. "Let me walk you back to your dorm, Birdie," he offered with a crooked grin.

"Thank you," she sighed with relief.

The night was chilly, but Maddie was used to that. If anything, the temperature was comforting. It reminded her of home, of snowball fights with her friends in between huge powdery drifts of white.

"So," she said, trying to reignite the conversation from before. "Why is it so stuffy in your room? I thought you and Francis and Antonio were best friends."

Gilbert made a face and shrugged. He wore only a short-sleeved T-shirt. She hoped he wouldn't catch a cold or anything. "I dunno. We _are_ best friends, and usually we get along awesomely, but me and Franny are kinda fighting right now."

"That's terrible," she said. "Why are you fighting?" Francis had seemed so easy to get along with. What could he and Gilbert be fighting about?

"Eh, nothing important," Gil said, waving the question away airily. "Let's talk about something else, okay?"

"Sure," she said.

"So how was your first day?" he asked. Maddie nearly jumped out of her skin when the side of his hand brushed against hers. Until then, she hadn't realized how close they were. Now his proximity was making her nervous.

"Um…" She stepped a little to the side. Gilbert must not realize how close they were. "It was fine. I like my teachers, from what I can tell, and all the students seemed friendly."

A shadow of a rueful grin flitted across his face when she stepped away. "Yeah, everyone's pretty nice here. You just have to watch out for Lovina, that's Toni's girlfriend. She's fine once you get to know her, but boy, does she have a mouth on her! And don't get on Vash's bad side or you'll regret it, though I doubt that'll be much of problem unless you mess with Lili—that's his little sister. Oh, and just avoid Ivan Braginsky, okay? Don't ask why, just do it."

Maddie nodded seriously. "Got it. Lovina, Vash, and Ivan."

He cracked a grin. "Don't worry Birdie, if Ivan comes after you I'll keep you safe."

She flushed, averting her eyes from his hypnotic scarlet ones. "U-um, thanks."

"Whoa!" Suddenly Maddie found herself being yanked behind a bush. One of Gilbert's hands was clapped over her mouth, and the other was pinning her to his side. "Dude! Look, it's Luddie and Feli!"

Maddie felt herself turning even more crimson than Gilbert's eyes. The warmth and strength and long leanness of his body pressed firmly against hers was strange—she'd never been that familiar with a guy before. The suddenness and strangeness of it all was too strong for her to even consider if she liked it or not. She struggled to get free.

"Shh," he hissed, tightening his grip on her to contain her struggles. "This a golden opportunity for me to tease him! Do me a favor and just stay still till it's over, okay?"

Maddie thought about licking his hand before disregarding the idea. Who knew where his hand had been?

Relenting now that she realized she was stuck, she turned her attention to whatever had Gilbert so worked up. And her eyes widened.

It was Ludwig and his girlfriend, Feliciana, tucked away into a shadowy corner of the dorm building. Ludwig had the little Italian backed up against the wall of the dorm, and they were sharing a very, _very_…loving…kiss.

Gilbert chuckled gleefully. "Oh, _yes_! This is awesome! Luddie never starts anything and he gets so embarrassed when people catch them together, so this is two in one!"

Embarrassed Maddie averted her eyes from the sight. She felt awkward intruding on their moment. And she was suddenly very aware of Gilbert's hands pressing into her lips and holding her tight against his body.

For some reason she didn't feel disgusted with Gilbert for spying on his brother and his girlfriend. In a weird way, she felt like that was his way of showing he cared, making sure that Ludwig was happy in his relationship with Feli. An odd way of showing affection, to be sure, but it was sweet.

After a while she heard the two of them start talking, exchanging "goodnight"s and "I love you"s, and she deemed it safe to look up again. "Aww," Gilbert pouted. "It's over."

"Mmph," she complained.

"Oh yeah!" He let her go. "Sorry, forgot I had you like in an armlock there."

She straightened her hoodie, a little irritated. Although pitched slightly with anger, her voice remained just as breathy and quiet as ever. "Yeah, you did."

"Sorry, I just couldn't miss that moment!" At least Gilbert had the decency to avert his eyes, grinning sheepishly. "I didn't mean to attack you."

"It's okay," she relented. It wasn't in her nature to stay angry at anyone for very long. "Just next time? You can let me go once I realize what's going on."

"That's no fun," he said, smirking crookedly at her. Her heart skipped. _He's so handsome_.

That thought surprised her. He was nothing like her normal type. She was into quiet, bookish guys, like her. Which explained why she'd never had a boyfriend. Two socially awkward people didn't usually get up the courage to go out. But Gil was totally different—he was loud and punkish and wore his emotions on the sleeves of weird German band shirts and he had those disconcerting scarlet eyes that were swallowing her alive…

"Ah, thanks for walking me home!" she said, jumping like she'd sat on a pin when she realized what she was thinking. "I mean, to my dorm, I mean…"

He chuckled. "I get what you mean. G'night, Birdie."

"Hey," she said, making him pause as he turned to go. "Why do you call me that? Birdie?"

With a shrug, he replied. "I dunno. I really like birds, and you remind me of one. It suits you, don't you think?"

"Well, I'd never really thought about it." Maddie blushed. "I guess."

"You don't mind, do you?" he asked.

"No, not really. I've just never gotten a nickname within five minutes of meeting someone before," she laughed.

"Well, there's a first time for everything!" He winked. "See ya in class!"

And with that, he strode off back to his dorm building, whistling cheerfully as he went.

Maddie was swallowed in thought as she went back inside. _I really like birds, and you remind me of one_…The implication in those words sent a shock through her. Had he meant to say, "I really like you"?

_Don't be ridiculous_, she berated herself. _He was just being nice_.

Still, she couldn't deny the fact that she was getting more attention from boys in one day at Hetalia High than she ever had back home. Both Francis and Gilbert were stunningly good-looking, and that didn't mean they were good people, but from what she could see they both seemed like the stuff of any right-minded female's fantasies. Francis was so chivalrous and gallant, and Gilbert was cheeky and playful, but they were so similar, somehow. They both certainly had the same effect on her.

When she unlocked the door to her dorm and walked inside, still a little lost in dreamland, she was surprised to find Britt waiting for her.

"Oh!" she squeaked. "Britt, do you need something?"

The English girl had a paper of French homework in her hands, but it was ignored now. Bottle-green eyes studied Maddie curiously. "What's with that look on your face?"

"Look?" Maddie asked, automatically trying to erase any traces of said "look." "I don't know what you mean."

"You look all… I dunno. Lovestruck?" Her eyes widened. "Tell me you haven't run afoul of the Bad Touch Trio yet."

"Bad Touch Trio?" squeaked Maddie, suddenly feeling the urge to cover her…er, vital regions. The words Francis had said to her earlier that night played through her mind. _We're kind of a trio. Gil, Toni, and me._

Britt's eyes widened. "Aw, they're on you already?" She swore, making Maddie flinch. She didn't like swearing.

"On me?"

"Hitting on you. At least tell me it wasn't Antonio, Lovina'll be heartbroken if he ever cheats on her."

"No, I've never even met Antonio," Maddie replied.

"Then who was it? Gilbert or Francis?"

"Er, hitting on me?" She thought about it. "Well, I don't know about hitting on me, but they've both talked to me…"

"How often?" Maddie was beginning to feel like she was being interrogated, under threat of torture by the green lasers of Britt's eyes.

"Um, twice each," she managed. "Once in class, and I met Francis outside of the dorm, and Gilbert walked me home."

Britt groaned. "Oh good. It's already started. Listen up, Canada, and let me teach you a few things about Hetalia High." Her voice took on a lecturing tone, and she began counting off points on her fingers. "Don't mess with Lili or her brother will kill you. Don't approach Ivan Braginsky when he's glowing purple. If Elizaveta asks you if you want to learn about the wonderful world of yaoi, just _say no_. And if you get hit on by Francis Bonnefoy, Gilbert Beilshmidt, or Antonio whatever-the-heck-his-super-long-Spanish-name-is, you'd best run the other way as fast as you can if you value your heart or your virginity."

_Virginity? _Maddie's stomach dropped into her battered Chuck Taylors and her voice came out unhappily when she said, "Eh? I didn't know they were like that."

"Oh yes," she responded. "They're hot, and they get girls, but they never stay with them for long. They're only after one thing."

"But…" Maddie was distressed. She'd liked them so much. Had she misunderstood? Or been duped, like all these other girls Britt was talking about? "I thought you said Antonio and Lovina were dating? He must have been with her for a while…"

"Yeah," Britt allowed. "He's totally head-over-heels for her, so you can just take him out of that list. He _has_ to be in love with her for _her_—she's too Catholic to give it up until she's married. But if Gil or Francis hits on you, they just want you for a good time. Trust me."

"Oh," Maddie responded in a small voice, studying the floor to hide the pained look in her eyes. _Of course. The first time a guy—two guys!—flirts with me, it has to be because he's sex-crazed. Why did I expect otherwise?_

"Oi," Britt said, leaning down to catch her eyes. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Maddie said, looking up and forcing a smile. "Thanks for the warning."

After helping Britt with her French, Maddie retreated to her room and lay there for a while on her bed, staring around at the empty room and the boxes full of her things. She felt unexpectedly crushed by Britt's revelation.

_I really thought they were nice… That we could be friends, or maybe more…_ She wasn't sure which guy she meant. Either, really. She'd been dangerously close to falling for both of them. _It's a good thing Britt warned me, before I got close enough to get hurt._

From now on she had to be on her guard. She had to be strong, no matter what feelings those lovely clear blue or exotic ruby red eyes ignited in her. Maddie hated lies more than anything, and making a girl fall in love with you when you felt nothing for her was one the biggest lies of them all, one she simply could not forgive.

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><p><strong>AN: Gilbert, you rapist xD<strong>

**On a side note: I just finished the fanfic I'd been working on most recently, For Better or For Worse, so this one should be going a little faster. Fingers crossed!**


	6. The True Bad Touch Trio

**AN: I am _so_ sorry for waiting so long to update. I have got some serious explaining to do.**

**When I started this fic, I really didn't think it would be popular. But I'm getting a much better response than I expected-even though I haven't updated since February, I keep getting notifications about favorites and follows. And all the reviews were so positive! Honestly... I got intimidated. Everyone's so adamant about their favorite pairing, so I'm worried that the ending will make half my readers hate me. I've finished writing the fic, and I've worked hard to make it something everyone would like regardless of preference, but I know someone will be upset by it. So please don't hate me when it all plays out DX I love both these pairings, and I would do them both if I could, but there can only be one winner.**

**I'll be working hard to edit and make First Kiss Wins the best it can possibly be. In the meantime, please keep an open mind and don't just quit reading when it becomes apparent who will win! I hope the ending will be satisfactory to both groups. I'm loving the love I'm getting from you guys and I don't want it to end, so please keep reviewing!**

**Okay, done with my ranting. On to the long-awaited fic!**

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><p>Gilbert tapped out a beat on his desk with his pencil, impatient for a certain cute blonde Birdie to show up. She'd been on his mind all night. He hadn't actually forgotten that he was holding her while he spied on Ludwig and Feli making out, but it was a good excuse not to have to let her go. The way she'd fit into his arms like that… There was no way he'd have let go a single second sooner than he had to.<p>

Of course, Francis had seen it on his face when he came home, grinning all triumphantly. He couldn't help it. And as much as he hated to say it, he had to give Francis props—the man knew how to read people. Even if Gil had tried to hide his satisfaction with how their little walk had gone, the Frenchman would have sniffed it out eventually.

Gil wondered how it had gone downhill so quickly. He and Francis had gone from being best friends to hardly speaking in under twenty-four hours.

_Man, this is serious_, he thought wonderingly._ She really means that much to him…and me._

That thought made him even more determined to win. If Francis was in top form, he was dang near irresistible by anything female (and some male too). He could've made a statue blush with that stupid little kiss he blew at any girl who looked at him twice. The French man had taught Gilbert everything he knew about flirting.

And Gilbert had to be better than him. Somehow.

Unfortunately, when Maddie walked into the class she was trailing meekly at the heels of her loud obnoxious brother, so Gil couldn't walk up to her and openly flirt like he'd planned. Maybe that was for the best—blatant flirting didn't seem to work well on her. Which was frustrating because Francis' specialty was…well, it definitely wasn't subtlety, but somehow Francis' flirting seemed a lot more gentlemanly than Gilbert's, what with his hand-kissing and stupid Frenchness.

Gilbert settled for a wave. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Francis shoot her a smoky glance and a wink.

Although Gilbert wasn't sure exactly what he'd expected to get as a response, it sure wasn't what he got. When she noticed the two of them, lounging around in their desks at the back of the classroom as always, her expressive blue eyes closed off and became unfriendly even as her cheeks turned faintly—and super-attractively, she looked the awesomest when she blushed—pink. Without a word or even a nod of acknowledgement she took her seat at the front of the room. Even though they couldn't see her face from this angle, she radiated some very un-encouraging vibes, colder than a Canadian winter.

Francis and Gilbert exchanged a befuddled glance. "What did you do?" they hissed to each other simultaneously.

"Me! How dare you assume I'd do anything to offend Madeline?" Francis demanded, glaring.

"Well I'm way too awesome to have done anything!" Gilbert shot back. "It had to have been you!"

"Why don't I ask her?" Antonio suggested cheerfully.

The other two shot him a please-tell-me-you're-joking look. "You don't just ask girls stuff like that! They read too much into everything," Gil told him. "You ask her one question and the next thing you know she's gonna start thinking we're stalking her or something!"

"What?" Antonio frowned in puzzlement. "How did you get that out of that?"

"I don't know," Gil huffed. "Who knows how girls think?"

"I do," Francis reminded him. "And I bet I know what's going on. Isn't she rooming with Brittany Kirkland?"

Gilbert moaned. "Awesome. Just our luck. The hot transfer student manages to get the chick who hates our guts the most out of anybody at this school for a roommate."

"Look on the bright side, _mon ami_. This gives you an advantage."

"Yeah, Britt hates you even more than me." Gilbert grinned. "I bet you're regretting pestering her so much now!"

"_Oui_… Britt is lovely, but nothing compared to Maddie!" He sighed regretfully. "And now Madeline has heard all the most atrocious rumors about us… What she must think of us."

"Most of those rumors are true, _amigo_," Antonio reminded Francis. "We kind of _have_ flirted with every girl in the school. Well, except for me," he added, looking a little surprised. "I haven't flirted with Maddie yet."

"And you better not, or Lovina will make wurst with your entrails," Gilbert warned. "Why you picked yourself a Mafia chick I will never understand."

"Because!" Toni cried, astonished that Gilbert couldn't see Lovina's appeal. "She's so cute, and when she blushes I just want to kiss her until she can't breathe! But she's also shy and there's something just so sexy about that, that I still have to pursue her even though we're dating! And she cooks so well and her eyes are so pretty and she's smart and independent and strong…"

Gil tuned Toni out after that. "What should we do?"

Francis sighed. "I'm not sure. If she's already determined to hate us… I'm sure Britt has her thinking that we're incapable of actually loving anyone."

They both got the epiphany at the same time. Slowly, they turned to look at Antonio, who was still rattling off his list of what made him love Lovina, totally unaware of the fact that no one cared.

"…and when she threatens me, you can tell it's because she's embarrassed, or because she really does want me to… What?"

Gil and Francis exchanged a glance. "You're going to sit with Maddie at lunch today," Francis ordered.

"_Como_?" he whined. "Without you guys? But I don't even like her…"

"Oh, c'mon, take Lovi and it'll be awesome," Gilbert pled. "Take one for the team, Toni!"

Toni sighed. "Fine… But you guys owe me one… You can clean out Señor Tortuga's tank for me, how does that sound?"

"Not awesome." Gilbert made a face.

Francis' lip curled. "Such tasks are below one of my gorgeousness!"

Scowling, Toni crossed his arms stubbornly. "Fine then, I guess you can forget about me eating with her."

Gilbert grumbled. "Fine, I'll do it. As long as _Frankriech_ helps."

"I'll help," Francis sighed dramatically, pushing a hand through his blond waves to complete his martyred look. "Although it will be demeaning!"

"_Bueno_!" Antonio grinned widely. "It's a deal."

o~O~o

Maddie sighed as she pulled her lunch out of the paper sack she'd brought it in. She'd managed to use her practical invisibility (as she'd taken to calling her ability to fade into the background of any gathering) to lose both her brother and Britt, who had walked with her from class. As well as she was sure they meant, she wasn't in the mood for company. Plus, it was strange to watch her brother hit on her roommate even when she wasn't feeling like she wanted to growl at anything even vaguely hinting at romance.

_Stupid Germans. And French people_, she grumbled to herself. It was so irritating that the sight of the two of them was still enough to send her heart racing, even though she'd made up her mind not to care about them.

She popped open the can of grape soda she'd brought with her lunch and took a sip, scanning the courtyard and turning her face up a little to catch the warmth of the noonday sun. In an attempt to clear her mind she shut her eyes, squeezing out the light and all the thoughts fighting for center stage in her mind.

"What are you doing?" asked a voice. The voice dripped with displeasure and annoyance.

Startled, Maddie let her eyes fly open to see a slim brunette girl in front of her, sporting a scowl and a pair of tawny eyes in a shade Maddie had never seen before. She wore her slightly wavy brown hair in a ponytail and a shapeless green sweater, and the ferocious glower on her face looked rather…permanent.

"Oh, I was just…" The unexpected hostility had Maddie floundering. "I don't know, it's just a nice day… I was enjoying the sun…"

The girl snorted. "Whatever. I'm sitting there." Without waiting for a response she took a seat next to Maddie and popped the top off her thermos. The warm scents of a gourmet Italian kitchen floated out, making Maddie's sandwich seem pretty pathetic by comparison.

"Um…" Maddie coughed self-consciously. "Er, I'm Maddie."

"I know," she said shortly. "My boyfriend's best friends are in love with you, so I've heard a little about you in the past twenty-four hours." She stabbed a fork into her pasta, maybe a little more violently than necessary.

Maddie was dumbstruck. "You're dating… I mean, you're Lovina?"

"Yeah, what of it?" she asked defensively. Somehow her scowl deepened. "And yeah, since you were going to ask, I date Toni. So you better not even _think_ about it, Canada."

The murderous look in Lovina's eyes was terrifying. "Oh, no, I wasn't thinking…" she stuttered, panicky. "I've never met Antonio, I've just heard about him from Gilbert and Francis…"

"Good." A wave of relief rolled through Maddie when Lovina turned her glare to her pasta. "Too much pepper," she grumbled to herself. "What's wrong with Feliciana? Can't she even make a decent pasta?"

They ate awkwardly side-by-side like that until they were interrupted by a voice calling out, "Lovi!" in an adoring tone.

Lovina groaned as if the voice came from the last person on Earth that she wanted to see, but a hint of a blush stained her cheeks.

The Spaniard Maddie had seen together with Francis and Gilbert was skipping towards them. Yes, _skipping_. But somehow when he skipped, it didn't look strange. He just looked like he was too excited to keep his feet fully on the ground.

He had eyes only for Lovina. Without a word for Maddie he gathered Lovina into his arms and kissed her firmly and lingeringly, murmuring to her in Spanish.

"Gerroff," Lovina ordered, turning furiously red. She looked half like she wanted to escape, and half like she wanted to kiss him back with equal eagerness. Suddenly she squeaked and her face grew even more crimson than Gilbert's eyes. "Don't grope me in public, you stupid tomato!" she howled furiously, slapping his arms away.

"I love you too," he responded cheerfully.

Contrary to her territorial words from a moment before, Lovina seemed eager to escape. She was redder than a tomato when she sat furiously down in her seat, taking a violent bite of her pasta.

With a lingering fond smile for his girlfriend, Antonio turned his attention to Maddie. "_Hola_!" he said cheerfully. "I'm Antonio Fernandez Carriedo. It's nice to meet you!"

"Oh, um, I'm Madeline Williams," she responded, extending a hand to shake. He ignored it and greeted her European-style, kissing her briefly on both cheeks. Maddie was frozen in surprise.

Lovina's cheeks flamed with furious red and she leaped to her feet. "What the heck, Toni?" she demanded angrily. She pounded her fists into his chest hard, making him stagger back a step. Still shouting, she rained blows down on him. "Can't you keep your hands off other girls for two seconds? If you do this crap right in front of me then what are you doing behind my back?"

"Just dreaming about you, _querida mia_," he chuckled, grabbing her wrist as her fist flew at him again. She struggled and shouted obscenities at him as he reeled her into his arms and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I was just being friendly to Gil and Franny's friend."

"Yeah, _too_ friendly!" she growled, wriggling in his grip.

"You know I only love you, my precious little tomato," he chuckled.

"Yeah, me and every other girl who looks at you twice," she said heatedly. She'd given up on trying to escape, but she turned her face away from him petulantly.

He kissed her cheek, refusing to be ignored. "No, just you."

"Hmph."

"C'mon, you know it's true. Can I have a kiss now?"

Face flaming, Lovina grudgingly turned her face towards his as if unwilling to admit she was actually allowing him to kiss her. Antonio ignored her reluctance and captured her lips with his.

Maddie turned her face from the sight, feeling awkward intruding on them. It was obvious that Toni was really enamored of Lovina, and she was just naturally sour.

She shook herself. _That was rude!_ She did her best not to judge people on first meeting them, but Lovina… She seemed awfully bitter, no matter how Maddie looked at it.

Her gaze snuck back to Antonio and Lovina, who were still kissing. She felt a blush heat her face, but she couldn't help herself. The tender way Antonio held Lovina… The gentle heat of the way his lips moved with hers… The pair of them were so different from any high school couple she'd ever seen. They simply fit. They were puzzle pieces made to match, two parts of a whole.

It was humbling, to watch this moment of intimacy. The intimacy wasn't physical—Toni didn't push farther than was appropriate in public—but the outpouring of their souls into the contact was almost tangible. Maddie had to force herself to stop watching out of common courtesy for their privacy.

_Wow… This is the Bad Touch Trio?_ she wondered. Britt had to have been wrong. Lovina and Antonio could have been a couple long married, nothing like a man just searching for a good time and his girl of the week.

_I can at least give them the benefit of the doubt, then. At least. Come on, Maddie, you always try not to judge people, but you let Britt's rumors get to you this much? _When she thought about it like that, she felt ashamed of her behavior. They deserved better than being defined by rumors.

After a moment Lovina sat back down in front of her food and glared at Antonio. "I hope you're happy. We lost like five minutes of lunch to your stupid hormones."

He smiled at her. "I don't regret it; do you?"

Still glaring, she stuffed a bite of pasta into her mouth to stifle her answer. But Maddie could still hear. Albeit a sullen one, the answer had been "No."

o~O~o

Francis chuckled gleefully from his hiding spot behind a tree. "All according to plan, _non_?" He sighed with relief. "There is no way she could not be moved by that touching scene! Why, I almost went over there myself and joined in!"

"Well it's a good thing you didn't," Gilbert snapped. "That would've ruined the whole even-the-Bad-Touch-Trio can fall in love thing we were going for. Plus, you know Toni would never let you kiss his girl. Or him for that matter."

Francis pouted. "Yes, I know." Toni had become so boring since dating Lovina. He wouldn't even accept a kiss—or anything else, which was more disappointing—from Francis anymore, even though they both knew well that it was only cheating if you kissed another girl. Guys were neutral territory.

"Well, I guess the game's back on now," Gilbert said, grinning crookedly at Francis. "I'm going to win."

"I think not." Francis couldn't remember the last time he and Gilbert had fought, but he knew for a fact he'd never felt as unfriendly towards the German as he had since a beautiful Canadian transfer student walked into their lives.

A hot red gaze met molten blue. "May the best man win," Gilbert said, in a cold voice that belied the heat in his gaze.

"I intend to," Francis replied with equal venom.

After a moment of sharing a glare, the two stormed off to their respective lunches. Their tradition of eating lunch together had been broken, and both of them were rather glad not to have to eat with each other's faces ruining their appetites.

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><p><strong>AN: I'm such a bad person for screwing with their friendships like this XD But I was happy to do the Spamano scene! Love~<strong>


	7. What One Hears When Eavesdropping

**AN: Hello good people! From here on out stuff gets serious so I hope everyone's ready for some fluff! (If you aren't you should not be reading this fic...)**

**Oh, and thanks to HaruKirkland2337, the last chapter of this fic will be a bonus chapter in which Maddie ends up with the other guy. So if you're dissapointed with the way things are playing out, hopefully the bonus chapter will take care of you :)**

**Okay now that I'm done announcing stuff, let's get down to some PruCan!**

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><p>For almost a week Maddie managed to avoid Gilbert and Francis. Even though she'd already decided that she was going to give them the benefit of the doubt, she was still a little afraid of encouraging them. If she didn't act like a lovesick little puppy, maybe at least they wouldn't think she was an easy conquest or anything.<p>

Then, after a week, she realized how conceited that sounded. Who'd ever even said they liked her at all? Just because they'd spoken to her, Britt had automatically assumed they were lusting after her, and Maddie had taken her at her word. But that might not even be true.

Maddie glanced at herself in the mirror and frowned. What she saw definitely wasn't going to knock anyone off their feet. Long golden hair she never did anything to. Pasty pale white skin. Almost boyishly slim figure. Baggy clothes that did nothing to accentuate anything she did have to show. Paralyzing shyness that hunched her shoulders forward, as if in readiness for a blow. Half-rimmed glasses that hid her only really pretty feature, her eyes.

_Nothing they would want_, she sighed internally. If they were the sex-crazed lunatics Britt had made them out to be, she would be their least likely prey.

Most days after school, Maddie holed herself up in the library and did schoolwork, or she read. That was easier than facing the outside world with all its complications and hurts. She'd always used school and books as an escape. Now they were a very convenient way to hide from feelings she didn't want to have and people she couldn't seem to make friends with and a brother who, despite how annoyed everyone seemed to be with him, was skyrocketing through the social ladder while she was left at square one. She wasn't jealous of his success—if anything, she was proud of him—but it wasn't nice to be reminded that genetic similarity could never make her what Alfred was. Cool and popular. Universally liked. What Maddie desperately wanted to be.

If she was as popular as Alfred, she wouldn't have to worry about her problem with Francis and Gilbert. If she had as many friends as Alfred, she wouldn't have to be torn between pushing away the two people who seemed most interested in her and trying to protect her own heart.

It didn't take her long to meet the other inhabitants of the library. Some kids were just drawn there, like her, and they became the closest things she had to friends.

She met her first library buddy the first day she spent in the library, tucked away into a corner with an battered copy of _War and Peace_ that had to be at least as old as she was open on her lap.

"Madeline?" asked a familiar dictatorial voice.

She looked up, and sure enough, it was Ludwig. He had on a pair of reading glasses and looked like he'd paused in perusing the shelves next to her, only realizing she was there when he was almost on top of her.

"Oh, hi, Ludwig! I'm sorry, let me get out of your way."

"No, it's fine," he responded. "What are you doing in here?"

"Reading," she responded, holding up her book for his inspection. No way was she admitting to hiding from his brother and his French friend.

"On the floor?" He frowned. "Why don't you come sit with me and my friend?"

"Okay," she replied reluctantly. Her shyness tried to pin her to the floor where she sat, but when Ludwig stretched out a hand to help her up, she made herself take it and let him lead her to a nearby table.

A short Asian boy sat at the table, reading a volume of manga. When Ludwig sat back down, the boy looked up.

"Oh, hello," he said with a thick accent. His _l_s were completely obscured, blurring into _r_s. Japanese? Yes, he must be. Between the accent and the manga, it was almost a sure bet. "If I am not mistaken, you are the new transfer student, are you not?"

"Yes, that's me," she responded. "My name is Madeline Williams."

"_Watashiwa_ _Honda Kiku des_." He smiled and bowed his head politely to her. "It is a pleasure to meet you."

"And you as well." She glanced at Ludwig, who motioned for her to sit. She complied.

That quickly became a routine. Every day after school, the three of them met in the library and hung out there until it closed down at four. Sometimes they did homework—which they could help each other out with, as they were all juniors—sometimes they read, and sometimes they simply talked.

On occasion, they would be joined by friends. Feliciana would visit the library to see Ludwig from time to time. Kiku's roommate, Wang Yao, and Kiku's cheerful girlfriend Mei came to see him as well.

"Ludwig!" sang Feliciana from behind Maddie, alerting the book-absorbed trio to her presence. She was skipping towards her table, followed by a very pretty Asian girl with a pale pink blossom in her silky black hair.

"Hello, _liebling_," Ludwig said, looking up at Feliciana. His eyes flew wide when, without a trace of hesitation, she plopped down in his lap, threw her arms around his neck, and kissed him enthusiastically.

Maddie hid a snicker behind her textbook. The look on Ludwig's face was priceless—as always, he was wide-eyed and caught off guard, unsure of how to respond to her easy display of affection.

The Asian girl drew up a chair next to Kiku's, smiling dazzlingly at him.

"Hello, Mei," he said politely, turning faintly pink at the sight of her.

"Hey." She wound her fingers through his without the embarrassment Kiku displayed at the action and turned her pretty smile on Maddie. "Who's this?"

"This is our friend Madel—Maddie." Maddie had been trying for days to convince the reserved Kiku to use her nickname. "She's the transfer student from Canada."

"Oh!" The girl ducked her head just like Kiku had upon first meeting Maddie, smiling warmly. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Chen Mei, Kiku's girlfriend," she added, in case Maddie hadn't guessed as much from Kiku's blush and the fact that they were holding hands.

Maddie smiled timidly at her. "Hi."

"So you're from Canada, right? Can you tell me about it?" Mei asked, leaning forward eagerly. "I've always wanted to visit North America—I'm sure it would be so different from Taiwan!"

It was the first time anyone had ever asked about her home. "Well… It's colder there than here, and sunnier too. It's pretty peaceful there—there are lots of forests and wildlife. If you really wanted to get a full experience of Canada you should go to a hockey game, though." She laughed to herself. The first time Alfred had watched a hockey game with her on TV he had spent half the time hidden behind the couch, terrified by the explosive noise and violence that came out of her while she watched.

She proceeded to answer Mei's questions about Maddie's homeland, allowing the memories to loosen her stiff shyness. Soon Feliciana jumped into the conversation—once she'd finished reducing Ludwig to a pile of helpless German mush with kisses—and by the time the library closed, the three girls were talking like they'd known each other forever.

Yao was a different story. He was hostile to people he didn't know, and almost suffocatingly attached to those he cared about most—namely Kiku and Mei. He seemed to consider himself their older brother, and no amount of persuading on their part could convince him otherwise.

It took him a long time to warm up to Maddie at all, but once he did he kept offering her weird Asian foods that frankly, she was kind of scared to try at times. Still, she appreciated his honesty, even if it could be brutal at times, and his stubborn independence. He refused to allow people to boss him around and wasn't afraid to tell someone if he didn't like them. That was refreshing. He knew exactly what he felt and he said as much.

It took exactly a week and a half before Gilbert discovered Madeline hung out in the library with Ludwig. It was the second Saturday after she arrived, and she, Ludwig, and Kiku were getting started on a History project they'd teamed up on. Kiku and Ludwig were doing research on the Internet, and Maddie was hunting for books pertaining to their topic.

Buried among the shelves, Maddie didn't even realize Gilbert was there until he was about to leave. As she walked back towards the bank of computers, flipping through a book she'd found, she ran into somebody tall and angular.

"Ow!" Maddie fell on her backside, dropping the stack of books to the floor. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going…" She trailed off when she realized who she'd run into, clamming up as her cheeks heated.

"Birdie!" cried Gilbert delightedly. "Long time no see!" He offered a hand to help her up. "What're you doing here?"

"Er…" She accepted his hand and got to her feet, dusting off her jeans to avoid his eyes. "History project."

"Hey, so is Ludwig!"

She blushed. "Yeah, he and Kiku are my partners."

"Really?" Gilbert's face darkened. "He never told me that."

"We've been hanging out for a while," Maddie admitted.

"Really." Now the look on his face was almost…dangerous. "Ludwig!" Gilbert marched back over to the computers.

"What?" Ludwig looked wearily up at his brother.

Gilbert punched his brother's arm and leaned in to hiss in his ear, but Maddie heard anyway. "Dude! Why didn't you tell me you and Maddie were hanging out? How unawesome is that?"

"Why should I?" Ludwig's tone was irritable. "My friends are none of your business."

"C'mon, we're brothers! You gotta back me up here!" Gilbert huffed. "You know I like her."

Maddie flushed dark enough to make Kiku look at her with concern and alarm. "Ah, I need to… Books…" she said weakly to him. She fled back to the bookshelves, hiding among the reference books and atlases with their comforting uniformity.

Her heartbeat was thundering in her ears and her fingertips tingled. _He said it so easily… Geez…_

_Does he really like me?_ some shy, flattered part of her whispered wonderingly. _Could he… I mean, he's so… And I'm so… Oh come on, Maddie! Stop going all gooey because a guy might like you! _Appropriately chastened, she forced her heart to slow and her blush to fade.

When she'd composed herself, she made her way back to where her partners waited, determined to keep her composure this time no matter what Gilbert said or did.

He was waiting for her, straddling the back of a chair he'd pulled up so he could look over Ludwig's shoulder at their research. He directed a crooked grin at Maddie. "Welcome back."

"Thanks." Despite Maddie's good intentions, she felt herself blushing again. Doing her best to ignore both him and her embarrassment, she turned to Ludwig. "So, uh, I found this book…"

She, Kiku, and Ludwig carried on with their project, and Gilbert stayed the whole time. He got onto the computer next to Ludwig's and started playing a medieval war game, raving against it whenever he died or got attacked. At some points his yelling became so ridiculous that Maddie had to slap a hand over her mouth to keep her laughter from escaping. Then Ludwig would punch him in the shoulder and growl at him to shut up because they were in a library. Gilbert would quiet down, and then inevitably be screaming five minutes later.

By the time they finished, the library was about to close. They packed up their bags and replaced the books, chatting away.

Maddie intentionally packed slowly, hoping to take longer than Ludwig. Surely Gilbert would walk back to the dorm with his brother.

No such luck. As Ludwig stood to leave and saw that his brother had no intention of following, he grabbed the albino's arm and hauled him behind a bookshelf. The sound of low, intense conversation filtered over to Maddie and Kiku.

By unspoken consent, the pair of them tiptoed closer to the bookshelf so that they could hear. Ludwig's voice growled, "I don't know what you think you're going to achieve, but you'd better leave that girl alone, you hear? I'm not going to let you harass my friends."

"Harass? That hurts, Ludwig."

"Shut up, _dummkopf_! I mean it. If you even touch her…"

"What if she wants me to?" Gilbert protested. "Besides, that's not what I'm after, little _bruder_."

A short, shocked pause ensued. "It's not?"

"Yeah. I mean, she's super cute, but that's not it."

"Then what is?"

"I don't know, really. But… I don't know. She's the first girl I've ever liked that I didn't really think about sleeping with, you know?"

Ludwig's voice had a new tone of respect. "I see. That's…good."

"Besides, Francis wants her too. I mean, Franny's my friend and all… But I just can't stand the thought of him getting his hands on her."

"Does _he_ just want her for _that_?"

"No," Gilbert grumbled grudgingly. "I think he really likes her too."

A cold chill coursed through Maddie. Kiku was looking at her with round eyes, and her hands trembled. _Both of them? They really like me?_ She wished the ground would swallow her. Popularity really wasn't all that it was cracked up to be.

Just then Gilbert and Ludwig rounded the shelf and caught sight of the two eavesdroppers. Maddie and Kiku froze, both of their faces heating furiously.

Ludwig looked insulted by their listening-in, but Gilbert only chuckled. "You heard that, huh?" he asked, running a hand through his white hair.

Maddie nodded slowly. She wished her hair wasn't in pigtails—she desperately wanted to be able to hide her face behind a curtain of golden waves as she usually did when she was embarrassed.

He laughed at her blush and gestured towards the library door. "Let me walk you wherever you're going and explain myself?"

"U-um, I suppose…" Maddie ducked her head shyly and followed him as he led the way out.

The door to the library building shut behind them, and a chilly gust of wind whipped up around Maddie's ankles. Still, she wasn't cold—the heat in her face was enough to keep her nice and toasty.

The pair started walking without a word. Maddie studied the scuffed toes of her Converse to avoid looking into Gilbert's hypnotic eyes.

After a minute he sighed. "Can I carry your bag? I hate not having something to carry while a girl has that giant book bag."

She looked up at him in surprise. "Oh, um, sure." She handed the bag over. "Thanks."

He laughed. "Francis would be so proud of me." Then his grin widened as he slung the bag over his narrow shoulder. "Or more likely he'd want to skin me alive."

Maddie flushed even more. "So… When you said you two were fighting…"

"Yeah, it's over you." The ease with which he made the admission still shocked Maddie, even though she'd heard it before.

"Oh." She sounded as shaken as she felt. "I—I'm sorry, I don't want you two to fight…"

He laughed. "Aw, c'mon, Birdie, it's not like we never fight. We're roommates! We don't always get along."

"I see…" She covered her mouth with her sleeve and kept watching her feet.

"I know you heard me say it, but you're cute," he said with a smirk.

"Ah!" Maddie gasped, staring at him, her blush deepening to explosive levels. "I'm—no! Not really!"

"Yeah, you are," he chuckled. "Well, I guess now that you know I don't have to bother with subtlety anymore, huh?"

She almost jumped out of her skin. All she could think of were Britt's warnings. "I g-guess not!"

His big, rough hand closed around one of hers, the one that was tugging self-consciously at her hair. "In that case, is this okay?"

"Oh, but…" Maddie gasped. "I can't… Why… Won't Francis be upset…?"

"Aw, screw it." He grinned at her. "I'm going to piss Francis off either way so I might as well enjoy it."

"Um…" Maddie felt herself relaxing a little without meaning to. His firm but gentle grip on her hand sent tingles shooting through her. His fingers were callused and hard, and they seemed strong. Somewhere in her mind she had a recollection of Ludwig telling her that Gilbert played the bass.

Gilbert sighed. "Dang. It's too bad this campus isn't bigger."

"Huh?" Maddie looked up to see that they were in front of her dorm. "Oh! Um, thanks for walking me home." Shyly she retracted her hand from inside his and held it out for her bag. "And for carrying my stuff."

"No problem, Birdie," he said. He deposited the handle of the bag in her hand and smiled at her. "See you around."

"Yes…" Maddie watched him turn around and walk off with his hands in his pockets, whistling cheerfully.

_He really likes me. And Francis too. Am I dreaming?_ she thought wonderingly.

But the ghost of his hand wrapped around hers was real enough to send her heart racing, even as she trudged to her room in a daze and flopped onto her bed, staring at the wall until her thoughts chased themselves out of her mind.

o~O~o

Francis was furious.

_How could that freakish moron have made a move before me?_ he fumed. _She was avoiding both of us! How could he have found her before I did?_

He was aware that Gilbert had held hands with Maddie not because Gilbert had come home swaggering like a puffed-up pigeon, but because he had been chatting online with Britt. He had decided that a good way to get close to Maddie was to get her roommate not to hate him so much—and it had been coming along rather well.

They had been chatting about the cafeteria's food when Britt suddenly cut their conversation off to say:

_RockerQueen827: You'll never believe what I just saw_

**Irr****é****sistible46: What?**

_RockerQueen827: Gilbert and Maddie were just on the front porch HOLDING HANDS_

_RockerQueen827: That idiot… I WARNED her about you three!_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Wait, they were actually holding hands?**

_RockerQueen827: Yeah. Why_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Why what**

_RockerQueen827: Why do you care?_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Gil's my friend**

_RockerQueen827: …_

_RockerQueen827: So it's not Maddie?_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Why do you care?**

**Irr****é****sistible46: Are you falling for me? ;P**

_RockerQueen827: IDIOT_

_RockerQueen827: Don't even say crap like that._

**Irr****é****sistible46: I think you are!**

_RockerQueen827: I'm leaving._

—_RockerQueen827 has signed out—_

Besides for being pleased that it seemed that Britt, the only girl he had ever been unable to woo, was finally falling for him, he was furious. He had always expected to be the first to move—Gilbert was generally faster to make a move than Francis, so he had wanted to get a jump on the competition this time. But apparently he'd underestimated his opponent.

That was most of the problem. They knew each other too well. Francis had known about Gilbert's quick actions, so he'd tried to move to counter that—what of Francis' strategies was Gilbert going to find a way to annul?

Francis chuckled humorlessly. This was beginning to sound like chess. He'd always hated chess, but he could play. And he would play, if that was what Gilbert wanted. He would play, and he would win.

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><p><strong>AN: I have no idea why, but I'm using a lot more texting and chatting in this fic than usual O_o Weird. Maybe because they're teenagers...?<strong>

**Anyway, now for my plug! :D If you need more PruCan, my fic Your Wish Is My Command also features several PruCan chapters. I would do more Franada, but as of yet I only have recieved one request for it, and that's still in the works. So check me out! :D**


	8. Partners

**AN: FRANADA TIME~! :D**

**But I'm not gonna lie, my favorite part of this chapter has nothing to do with either France or Prussia. I got to put in a cute little twinly moment at the end :D I just love the non-romantic relationships in this fic-Maddie and Al as brother and sister, the friendships between Maddie and Feli and Mei, and especially the strain between Francis and Gilbert. They just make it fifteen bajillion times better if you ask me :D**

**Okay now you guys can read! Review for me pretty please!**

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><p>Maddie wanted to rip up the notice in her hand. But she made herself slip it into her folder instead. <em>I'll deal with it later<em>, she told herself, but she knew that she was really just trying to put it off.

The note was from the school's headmaster, and it read,

_Dear Ms. Williams,_

_It has come to our attention that you have not yet enrolled in any clubs or extracurricular activities. It is our school policy that each student be involved in at least one afterschool activity. You must rectify your lack of extracurriculars as soon as possible, or, regrettably, a discipline referral will have to be made._

_Thank you for your cooperation._

Maddie didn't want to join a club. She wanted to sequester herself in the library after school every day and then lock herself up in her dorm room, just like she did every day. But apparently, that wasn't an option, so that afternoon she went club-hunting.

She went about this by asking around in her classes to find out what kind of clubs the school had. Chess club, choir club, theatre club, and various sports were the ones she came across first. Maddie wasn't much of a sporty person, however, and there wasn't a hockey club or an ice-skating club, so that ruled out the only sports she could have a prayer of being involved in. Chess wasn't so bad, but Maddie wasn't a very good player; all the other clubs involved a level of outgoingness that Maddie simply didn't have. Book club sounded promising, until she found out from Ludwig that it was mostly made up of girls with little to no taste for literature. The Mathletes sounded equally poorly run. The Foreign Language Society attracted her interest for a while, until she realized that they had no respect for _Quebecois_ as a proper French dialect.

That was how she found herself in front of the door to the classroom where the Newspaper Club met. A job on the school newspaper would be sufficiently low-key to meet the needs of her crippling shyness, and it shouldn't be too much for her to handle with her heavy load of coursework. Whether as a camerawoman or an editor or a journalist, she would still be behind the scenes yet involved enough to please her counselor.

When she opened the door and stepped inside, the first thing that she noticed was the startling neatness of the place. She had expected papers and people and technology to be strewn helter-skelter across any available space—it _was_ a high school newspaper, after all—but everything seemed to have a place, and seemed to be in that place. A line of computers marched down one wall, and a row of desks on the other. In the back was a larger desk, like the one a teacher might use, and a massive printer/scanner/fax machine that looked like it would unfold into a Transformer at any second.

A girl with light brown hair with a large orange flower pinned to it noticed Maddie first. "Hello, can I help you?" she asked, a smile in her earnest green eyes.

"Yes, I was hoping to join the Newspaper Club," Maddie said softly. "Is there any spot for me?"

"Oh, sure!" The girl swung her arm through Maddie's companionably. "We always need an extra hand! I'm Elizaveta, by the way," she said, smiling at Maddie. "I'm the advice columnist. You know, helping students get used to dorm life and all that."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Madeline Williams."

"Oh, the transfer student!" Elizaveta laughed. "It's nice to finally meet the person we wrote about."

It took two tries for Maddie to say, "You wrote about me?"

"Of course!" Elizaveta led Maddie through an isle of computers. "Our president makes sure we stay on top of all the school news. He's very good at tracking down a lead."

"Who's your president?" Maddie asked, curiosity piqued.

"Did I hear somebody asking for _moi_?" asked a familiar French-accented voice.

Elizaveta turned, dragging Maddie along with her, to face none other than Francis. "Hi, Mr. President! I was just looking for you. Madeline wants a spot on the paper—do we have anything open?"

"But of course!" Francis grinned at Maddie. "So nice to see you taking an interest in my humble paper, _ma chere_."

Maddie blushed. His eyes were bluer and more captivating than she remembered. "To be honest I just needed to join a club," she admitted.

He took that in stride. "Then it must be fate that brought you to me!" He extended a hand to her, and she shyly placed her palm against his, releasing Elizaveta's arm. Hot tingles chased up her arm at the touch. "Now let's see how you'll best fit into our little family, _non_?"

Francis led her on a tour of the club room. Mostly it was made up of computers, with a monstrous printer in the back, and rows and rows of desks. As president, Francis had a desk to himself, where he sorted through all the articles and decided which ones should be published and which should be sent back to the writer for revision. He was the editor-in-chief of the paper, as well as overseeing all its levels of production and printing and often serving as a sort-of journalist himself, picking up on a scoop and then setting one of his real journalists to the task of investigating it. Everyone else did the same thing—odd jobs wherever a need arose. It seemed the paper really _was_ understaffed.

"_If we were some low-rate newspaper it would be much easier to maintain_," Francis explained. The two of them had slipped into French without even having to ask. It was wonderful for Maddie to hear the sounds of home—accented differently, to be sure, but still the sound of the language she'd learned to speak first—and she thought Francis felt the same. "_But we hold ourselves to a high standard here. This school is very isolated, so school news is big news. Some students would rather read what's going on here than in the world, since the world doesn't really concern them while they're living at Hetalia High_."

"_I see_," Maddie said, genuinely interested. "_Do you ever write about stuff that goes on outside the school?_"

He nodded. "_We cover natural disasters and such, things that affect a lot of people. Not everyone watches the news or gets on the Internet, since, like I said, it doesn't affect them much. And if they do bother keeping up with outside news, it's usually about their home country_."

"_That makes sense_." Maddie picked up an issue of the paper. She glanced it over and grimaced slightly. The content was very good, but there were some grammatical mistakes in it, and that irked Maddie.

Francis chuckled. "_I think we found a perfect spot for you. Would you like to be an editor, my dear?_"

"_I think I'd be good at that_," she said, smiling at him tentatively. He returned it with a wide grin of his own.

"_Then we'll be partners!_" He extended a hand for her to shake. "_Welcome to the team, Madeline._"

"_Maddie_," she corrected self-consciously. "_Just call me Maddie_."

"_Maddie then_." Abruptly Maddie realized that her hand was still tucked into his. It had felt so natural that she'd hardly noticed, but now that she remembered it seemed like every nerve in her body had migrated to the hand he held. His hand was warm, and his fingers were long, like a musician's—nothing like Gilbert's callused fingers, the fingerprints worn almost away from years of playing the bass. Francis' hands spoke of classical instruments, of the piano and the violin.

And she remembered something else. Hadn't Gilbert said that Francis liked her too?

Blushing, Maddie retracted her hand. "_Thank you so much for the tour, and letting me join the club. I need to go now, though_."

"_Too soon_," Francis sighed, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing it. "_But I suspect we'll be seeing a lot more of each other now—right, partner?_"

"_R-right_," she confirmed, her cheeks heating until she almost felt feverish. "_So, I'll be here tomorrow after school for the meeting_."

"_Until then_." He released her hand with obvious reluctance. "_I look forward to the pleasure, my dear_."

Maddie fled the club room as fast as she could without looking suspicious. Halfway to the library, she realized there was a good chance Gilbert was waiting there for her and changed directions, heading towards her dorm instead. She just couldn't deal with both of them back-to-back, not carrying all these conflicting emotions with her.

_I finally know what is about Francis_, she decided. She knew that it was Gilbert's exoticness and refreshing openness that attracted her to him, but she liked Francis because he was the kind of guy that simply _didn't exist_.

Maddie unlocked her dorm and went straight to her room, throwing herself across the bed and hugging her teddy bear, Mr. Kumajirou, close to her chest. She'd had him since she was a baby, and his familiar weight and shape were as close to home as she'd ever be here.

She buried her face in the soft white fur of his belly and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself home in her mind's eye. With her face deep in Kumajirou's fur, she could almost believe that when she looked up, she would once again be surrounded by her own familiar room. She could look out the window and see the snow-laden countryside, all the familiar people bundled up against the chill, the smell of her Mama's homemade pancakes wafting through the house.

Homesickness was a leaden weight in her heart. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. _Mama, I miss you. I wish I had you here to help me._ She could call, of course, but it wasn't the same as snuggling under her mother's arm on their old couch that still smelled of maple syrup from the time Maddie had spilled waffles on it as a girl, and telling her everything that was weighing on her heart. No, this time she had to be a big girl and solve her own problems for once.

Maddie turned over and stared at her bookshelf. All those books were her childhood. She'd grown up reading about, and falling in love with, perfect lovers—Romeo, Mr. Darcy, Maxim DeWinter, and so many more. Women throughout history had dreamed about finding someone like them, a lover who would love patiently and completely and passionately and perfectly.

But the thing was, men like that just didn't exist. Somehow, though… Francis came closer as she'd ever thought to find.

Maddie tugged the ribbons out of her hair, letting the golden waves fall out of their pigtails, and examined herself in the mirror.

_You can't keep doing this_, she thought. _You can't spend your whole life hiding. Someday, you're going to have to choose._

Her mother had always told her to chase her dreams and never apologize for dreaming them. _What you want isn't something you should ever have to say sorry for, baby._ Maddie had lived by that rule—but what she'd wanted had always been unobtrusive, something that wouldn't bother anybody. She'd wanted the last ice cream. She'd wanted to have a snowball fight today. She'd wanted to visit Alfred in America. She'd wanted to come to Hetalia High so her mama could live a better life. Those last might require someone to be put out, but it was still not incomprehensible for her to want those things. She'd never made a decision for which she would have to apologize.

But now… She had a feeling she was about to learn the true meaning of her mama's favorite motto. Whatever happened, she was going to make someone hurt. But if she kept putting it off, everyone would end up suffering for it.

Maddie wasn't brave like Alfred. She wished she was. But now she had to be brave enough to stand up and take what she wanted.

If only she could decide what that was.

o~O~o

Maddie and Alfred took full advantage of living so close to each other. They spent all the time they could together. They sat beside each other in class, and when a project as assigned where they could pick partners, they worked together. She would drop by his and Ludwig's dorm to watch them play Modern Warfare and cook them dinner. She tried to keep Alfred out of her dorm, because that usually degenerated into his shameless flirting with Britt, but she loved being in his dorm. Ludwig had become a very good friend, and it was fun to spend time with both of them. From time to time Kiku would visit, and sometimes he brought his roommate Yao with him. Kiku and Alfred hit it off immediately, and so did he and Yao—which struck Maddie as pretty strange considering how often and how violently they seemed to argue. But they were surprisingly good friends despite their spats, and Maddie wasn't complaining. She'd often worried that Alfred wouldn't be happy here, isolated from everyone and everything that he knew, and it was good to see that her fears had been groundless.

One evening when Maddie was in the kitchen, cooking sausage since Ludwig liked it so much, Alfred joined her. He'd seemed unnaturally subdued this evening, and to be honest, it was more creepy than refreshing. A moment of silence from Alfred was a rare and blessed thing, but a whole evening of it? Unprompted? It was slightly disturbing.

"Is something wrong?" Maddie rolled the sausages over in the pan, glancing over her shoulder at him.

He forced a smile. "Not really."

"Alfred." Her tone was stern. "I'm your twin. We may never have lived together, but I you have _my_ face. I can tell when it's upset."

He laughed. "I guess I shouldn't bother, huh?"

"No." She turned the heat down on the stove and walked over to Alfred. He was leaning on the counter, hands gripping the countertop. She slid her arms around him, slipping her arms under his and hugging him in comfort. "What's wrong?"

His arms went around her slowly, a delayed reaction. "Britt turned me down today."

"Doesn't she always do that?"

"Well, I've never asked her out straight before. Today I did, and well… She said she already likes someone else." He stroked her hair softly. His voice was full of pain that he was trying hard to keep covered up. "But I'm fine."

Maddie shook her head. "No, you're not," she whispered. "I can tell. You shouldn't hide things from me, Al."

His grip on her tightened, and after a long pause, his voice came out raw. "I don't know why it hurts so bad. I've been turned down before, and it was never like this."

Maddie wanted to cry. How could Britt reject a man so obviously in love with her? "Shh," she soothed, rubbing his back comfortingly. "It's going to be okay. You won't have a bit of trouble finding another girl who would just love to go out with you."

Alfred was silent for a moment. Then he whispered hoarsely, "I know there are other girls here… But, Maddie, I don't see them. I can't remember their faces. Just hers. Only hers."

A tear slid down Maddie's cheek. "Oh, Al… I'm s-sor—"

"Don't apologize." He released her and held her shoulders so that he could look her straight in the eye. "This isn't your fault."

"But I hate to see you hurting…" She wiped the tear away. "I'm sorry, I'm shouldn't cry."

Alfred looked so young, like a little child, as he pulled her close and rested his forehead on her shoulder. Something wet seeped into her shirt.

"I shouldn't, either," he whispered hoarsely.

Heart breaking for her brother, Maddie stroked his hair gently. "It's okay. Everything's going to be okay."

He trembled slightly, obviously straining to control his emotions.

"You don't have to hide with me, Alfred," she whispered to him.

"Thank you." He sniffled against her shoulder. "I don't know why… I'm not usually such a wuss…"

"You love her," Maddie said simply. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"Love?" He barked a humorless laugh. "Well, then. Heck of a lot of good it did me, huh?"

Maddie hugged her brother hard. Was she going to make Gilbert or Francis cry like this? She sincerely hoped not. It was strange, hoping _not_ to be loved, but that was what she felt.

Coming from a broken family, she knew love hurt. But she also knew that it was worth gambling that pain for the kind of love that allowed her brother to cry on her shoulder like this, showing her a weakness no one else would likely ever see.

At least she could always count on him, and he on her. That was what being twins was all about—that no matter who else left, who else failed you, you always had someone by your side. Always.

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><p><strong>AN: ;^; Da feels! But I was really on the fence about making Alfred cry. Do you guys think it was strange? I kinda thought it was sweet how he wouldn't cry in front of anyone but Maddie. Hope you all thought so too!<strong>


	9. How Ardently I Admire and Love You

**AN: Hello my friends! You ready for some more Franada? :D**

**This chapter is the product of a Jane Austen nerd (your humble servant Escritoria) watching 3 different versions of Pride and Prejudice in one weekend. Yeah, I know. It's bad, isn't it? WELL I DON'T CARE. I fangirl over Jane Austen almost as much as Hetalia xD So for my disclaimer this time: I don't own Franada or the love confession used in this chapter.**

**Oops, did I say love confession...?**

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><p>Maddie's routine changed after she joined the Newspaper Club. No longer did she spend her afternoons in the library with Kiku and Ludwig—nowadays when she saw them, it was usually during class or when she spent time in Alfred's dorm. Now she loitered in the club room for hours after classes.<p>

The thing about a newspaper was its unpredictability. One week they would be inundated with news, and the articles would all fly out within a day and the rest of the week would be spent lazing around. Other weeks they had to scrounge for ideas, and everyone turned in their articles at the last second, leaving Francis and Maddie and a few other dedicated staff members to stay up all night editing and arranging the paper and printing for the next day's release. Whichever sort of week it was, however, staff members were required to spend at least an hour per day in the club room—a rule specifically designed to make sure they got a paper out on slow weeks.

Maddie had taken up the practice of bringing homework to do on the off days. This particular day, she was reading and annotating _Pride and Prejudice_—although she'd read it many times before, she'd never annotated it before, and that was her class assignment. Every time she set a pen or highlighter to the pages, she winced at a pang of guilt that stabbed into her. Although she'd been annotating since sixth grade, she had never truly become used to vandalizing books that way.

The room was empty besides for Maddie and Francis. This happened often because of Maddie's habit of doing homework in the club room long after the others left, and although she had felt awkward about it at first, he never seemed to mind, and his ease was infectious.

Absorbed in the book, Maddie leaped almost three feet in the air when she suddenly felt something brush across the back of her neck. A familiar chortle came from behind her. "_I'm sorry, Maddie. I wanted to give you a little scare but I had no idea you were so jumpy!_"

Maddie's face flamed. "_Oh, it's just you, Francis._" Her heartbeat thudded in her ears as she turned in her chair to face him. "_You really got me there_."

He chuckled, impossibly blue eyes lighting up with mirth. "_Again, I'm sorry._" He craned his neck to peer over her shoulder. "_What are you reading?_"

"Pride and Prejudice," she responded, switching to English to relay the title in its original language. She rolled into French once more to add, "_It's one of my favorite books._"

"_Really?_" Maddie nodded, and Francis' grin deepened. In a single fluid motion, he went down on one knee next to her chair, the action bringing him so close that her breath hitched. The teasing expression had melted away to reveal one of seriousness and just a hint of pleading. His two hands clasped around one of her smaller ones as he locked their gazes and said fervidly but softly, "In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."

Maddie's heart stuttered. It took her a moment to recognize the words—they were Mr. Darcy's proposal to Elizabeth Bennett, from the book. But they felt so…_personal_. The way his deep blue eyes stared into hers was hypnotic. Could he really be saying…?

He lifted one hand to her hair, brushing through it gently. At that moment it was more probable that she would grow wings and fly away than break their gaze.

"_Not my words_," he whispered. Was he closer to her than he had been a moment ago? "_But they are beautiful. And they relay very eloquently what I have been meaning to say for a long time._"

Even breathing was difficult, trapped as she was by his gaze. The inches between them were so short. "_I… I don't know what to say._"

"_You don't have to say anything._" Francis' hand left its stroking of her hair and cupped her chin. Ever so gently, he guided her face forward, turning her trembling mouth towards his.

Maddie's eyes were wide open. She had a dim thought that she should close them—she was about to be kissed, for goodness sakes! But even as Francis' eyes slid shut and he drew her so close to him that his breath played across her lips, she simply couldn't force her eyes to close in acceptance of his kiss.

Just one inch remained.

The door to the club room banged open.

"Oh!" Elizaveta clapped a hand over her mouth, her cheeks turning faintly pink as she gazed at the pair. Maddie jerked away instinctively, but Francis stayed where he was, staring Elizaveta down as if daring her to comment.

"Sorry… I was just… We were…" Elizaveta's flush deepened.

Francis suddenly smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Who else is out there, Lizzie?"

As she blustered a nonsensical response he rose and strode to the door, throwing it wide to reveal a tall boy with dark hair and pale skin holding Elizaveta's hand. The boy turned red enough to rival even Maddie's deepest flush and dropped Elizaveta's hand as though scalded, looking ready to deny he had ever been holding it.

"My, my, Roderich! Look who finally came around!" Francis said languidly with his omnipresent bemused smirk.

Roderich cleared his throat and shifted his glasses further up his nose. "I don't know what you're talking about." The flush didn't abate, however.

Francis ignored him and turned to Elizaveta. "Please, consider the room yours. Maddie and I were just leaving."

Elizaveta's cheeks took on the slightest pink overcoat at the blatant lie, but her gaze was steady and not a hint of embarrassment came through in her tone. "Thank you, Francis."

Shooting a pointed glance at Maddie, Francis turned on his heel and strode into the room. He grabbed his backpack and slung it over his shoulders, then waited for Maddie to do the same.

"Oh." Maddie started from her frozen position. She walked mechanically over to her bag and unceremoniously dumped her annotating pens and highlighters into the bag with none of her usual organization. Then she followed Francis out of the room like a pliant little puppy.

Her mind was completely overwhelmed by everything that had happened. Francis had tried to kiss her! What was she going to do? Did she want him to or not? Was he going to take her somewhere more private and try again?

"Let's spy on them!" Francis cried suddenly, grabbing Maddie's wrist and yanking her into a small, dimly lit room.

It took a moment for Maddie to get her bearings. They were in the darkroom, where the newspaper club and the photography club developed their pictures. There were two ways to get into the room—from the photography club room, and the newspaper club room. Normally, the small rectangular windows in the doors were blocked with sheets of black paper to keep the lighting dim, so as not to damage the pictures, but Francis pulled down the paper on the newspaper side so he could see into the club room.

_This again!_ Déjà vu swirled through Maddie. She'd never spied on anyone before she met Francis and Gilbert, and here she was doing it again! Feli and Ludwig were bad enough, but now she was going to spy on Elizaveta too?

She tried not to go to the window, but curiosity was eating at her. She'd had no idea that Elizaveta had a crush, much less a boyfriend! But apparently it was common knowledge, considering Francis' reaction. Maybe she could take just a little peek…

When she sidled closer to the window, Francis obligingly made room for her. Since he was taller than her, he had the top half of the window to himself, and Maddie had the bottom half.

Voices floated into the darkroom. Maddie strained her ears to hear.

"—now everyone will know!" cried Roderich despairingly. He was facing the door, his back to Elizaveta, and he still sounded mortified.

"Is that so bad?" Elizaveta asked, stepping closer to him. "We couldn't hide it forever."

He groaned. "But I still…" A squeak burst out of him when Elizaveta wound her arms around him from behind. He stood stiff and ramrod straight, blushing.

"Are you ashamed of me?" she asked bluntly.

"What? No!" He turned in her arms to face her. "Never, Lizzie."

"Then why is it bad that everyone knows?" She glared at him challengingly.

The breath went out of him in a rush. "It's not," he said finally. "I just… Well, you know how self-conscious I am. I'm not good at receiving attention like you." He blushed at the admission. "But it's okay with me. Tell who you want."

Her eyes glowed with happiness. "Thank you, Roderich."

"You're welcome." Roderich had to smile at her joy.

Elizaveta stepped closer. "Come here and get your reward," she teased, eyes alight with mischief.

Despite a flush in his cheeks, Roderich caught her in his arms and they kissed, him haltingly and with hesitation, her gently guiding him where he faltered.

Maddie turned away from the sight, sliding down to the floor. She'd seen a lot of couples here at this school that seemed made for each other—Feliciana and Ludwig, Antonio and Lovino, and now Roderich and Elizaveta. If Francis had kissed her, would it have been that perfect? Would she have felt that made-to-match chemistry she saw in Elizaveta and Roderich's every touch?

Suddenly she remembered Gilbert. He had been so far from her mind this whole time—but what about him? She felt even farther from coming to a decision than ever.

And, even though Francis was close enough to her to make her blush, she suddenly felt very alone.

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><p><strong>AN: And AusHun just because I love it :D Reviews please? We're coming to the climax of the story soon!<strong>


	10. Uncertainty

**AN: Hello my lovely people! Today I have a long chapter for you so please make sure and review for me :D PLEASE FRANCIS AND GILBERT WILL LOVE YOU FOREVER IF YOU DO. _Oui_, I have them captive, but I am willing to share for reviews ;D**

**This first part really should have been in the last chapter, but oh well! I hope you enjoy all the POVs. You get the whole love triangle in this one chapter! Lucky you :P**

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><p>As much fun as it had been to spy on Roderich and Elizaveta—talk about not being in touch with one's emotions! It had taken Roderich almost a full four years to finally admit he was in love with Elizaveta—Francis was furious that his almost-kiss with Maddie had been interrupted. He'd been so close to winning! <em>Perfect<em> timing, _perfect_ emotion, _perfect_ solitude to appease Maddie's shyness, and it had all been ruined!

Grumbling, he laid the template newspaper on the scanner and scanned it so that copies could be made tomorrow for distribution. This competition with Gilbert was starting to become much more than he had bargained for. Never in his life had Francis felt the way he did when he was about to kiss Maddie. It had been so…_vulnerable_, so raw and real and important. He'd felt like a little junior high kid again, except he hadn't even felt that reverent about his first kiss.

The image of her startled face, with wide eyes and rosy cheeks and lips slightly parted in shock, filled his vision every time he blinked, and a shiver passed through him.

Love was harder than the game he'd been playing ever since he was twelve—the heartbreak game, the one-girl-was-just-like-any-other game. For his whole life, he'd known he was attractive to women, and he'd always played it to his advantage. He'd been a glutton, taking what he wanted whenever he wanted it, leaving a trail of broken hearts in his wake.

He'd never felt a thing. The heartbreak game was a means of getting a girl in bed, nothing more; there was hardly any emotion involved in his conquests.

This was so different that it was disconcerting. He'd never been as vulnerable as the girls who were drawn into his game—he had always been the one in power, the puppeteer plying the strings. He wasn't used to having another player on the board who had just as much power over him as he did over her.

For the first time in his life, Francis had been presented with a real challenge. And this was a game he had to win, if only so he could understand the rules.

o~O~o

Maddie left the club room in a hurry. She had to talk to someone about this.

Immediately she discarded most of her closest friends—Ludwig was Gilbert's brother, and Kiku was too emotionless. Britt obviously hated both Francis and Gilbert. Alfred was…Alfred. Plus, there was no lost love between he and the other members of Maddie's little love triangle.

That was how Maddie found herself knocking on the door of Feliciana's dorm. Feliciana and Mei were the only options Maddie could come up with that could give sufficiently unbiased and helpful advice. As airheaded as Feli was normally, she understood people very well, and Mei was usually a lot more insightful than she seemed.

Feliciana opened the door. She wore a sundress in the colors of the Italian flag. "Oh, _ciao_, Maddie!" she said cheerfully. "Can I help you?"

"I want to talk to you and Mei," Maddie said. "Do you know which dorm is hers?"

"Oh, sure!" Feliciana skipped across the hall and rapped her knuckles on the door.

A timid-looking blonde girl with olive green eyes opened the door. "Oh, _guten nacht_, Feliciana. Are you here to see Mei?" she asked in a sweetly girlish-sounding voice.

"_Si, per favore!_" Feliciana said with a smile. "Maddie, this is Lili, by the way."

Lili ducked her head. "How do you do?"

Maddie smiled shyly at the little girl. "Very well, thank you."

"I'll go find Mei," Lili said, and vanished back inside.

A moment later, Mei appeared at the door, looking lovely as a sunset in pale pink. "_Ni hao_, Maddie! Do you need something?"

"Yes," Maddie said. "Can we go to the park and talk a little?"

The three girls settled on a park bench and Maddie told her story, about Gilbert and Francis' advances and their confessions and how she'd almost been kissed by Francis not an hour ago. Their eyes grew wide at the tale.

"Wow, Maddie," said Mei softly. "It sounds like they're both pretty serious about this."

"I know," Maddie said miserably. "I don't know what to do. They're both so sweet, and I could love them both, but I have to choose and I have no clue which one I'm in love with!" She dropped her head into her hands. "And all the time I feel more and more pressured to make a decision…"

"So, be the baby!" Feliciana said brightly.

Maddie glanced at her. The copper-haired Italian looked back at her cheerfully, as though any second the epiphany was going to hit Maddie and she would gratefully agree to the bizarre suggestion.

Mei looked just as puzzled. "Feli, do you think you could explain that for us?" she asked finally, when it became apparent that Feliciana wasn't going to catch on to their lack of understanding anytime soon.

"Oh, okay! Well, when I was little, my mama would read me stories from the Bible, and one of them was about this big powerful king named Solomon. Once, God offered to give Solomon anything he wanted, and Solomon asked for wisdom—so he was the best and smartest king ever!" Maddie still didn't understand how this related to her predicament, but she nodded encouragingly to Feliciana when she paused and glanced at them to see if they were paying attention. Surely Feli would get to the point eventually…? Hopefully so. "So since King Solomon was so smart, people would come from all over to have him solve their problems. One day, these two ladies came to see him, because both of them said they were the mamas of one baby. You see, one of the ladies had accidentally rolled over on her baby at night and killed it, so she took the other lady's baby as a replacement.

"Of course, neither would give up saying she was the baby's real mama, so Solomon came up with a plan. He had one of his guards bring a big ol' nasty sword to him, and he said, "The only fair way to do this is cut the baby in half so you can both have him." Of course, the baby's real mama was really scared, and she started crying and saying that the other lady could have the baby because she didn't want it to get hurt. So that's how Solomon knew who the real mama was!"

Mei and Maddie kept staring at Feliciana blankly. The little Italian colored slightly. "You still don't get it? You have to be the baby from the story. The real mama cared more that her baby would live than that she could keep it. You have to see which guy would give you up so that you could be happy, even if it meant he couldn't have you."

The wisdom of that, coming out of Feliciana, was a little shocking, but it made perfect sense. "I understand now. That's really good advice, Feli. Thanks." Maddie hugged her friend.

Mei put her arms around both of them. "I know you'll make the right decision. You're smarter than anyone!"

"Thank you both," Maddie said. To her embarrassment, she found a few sentimental tears pricking at her eyes. She'd never had friends like this back home. "Thanks for everything."

Feli laughed and pecked the blushing Canadian on both cheeks. "Don't cry, Maddie! That's what friends are for!"

o~O~o

Gilbert had never been nervous to ask a girl out before. His flirting style was so blunt that the girl saw it coming from a mile away, and Gil usually had a pretty good idea of what their answer would be before he asked.

But with Maddie…he just had no idea. Normally, he would have preferred to wait until he could know for sure that she wouldn't turn him down, but in this instance his time was so short. This time he had a rival. And somehow, he just couldn't keep going on like he was. He couldn't stand it, this uncertainty, this not knowing how she really felt. She was the type of girl who could be too shy to pull her hand away if you held it—but a date was a totally different matter. If she said yes, it wouldn't mean she liked him as much as he liked her, but at least it would be a step in a good direction.

As soon as the lunch bell rang, Gilbert was out of his seat and on his way to the courtyard. He knew where Maddie liked to sit, on a bench tucked into a corner under the patio, so he made his way there trying to look as nonchalant as possible.

Maddie arrived at the same time as he did. A small squeak burst out of her when she noticed him coming and saw that their paths would intersect at her usual bench.

He grinned. _So cute!_ "Hey, Birdie."

"Hi, Gilbert." She was flushing already, the hot crimson making her melting ice-blue eyes stand out even more. They hadn't seen each other much since she joined the newspaper club—after that, she'd stopped visiting the library as often, so Gilbert didn't get as many chances to see her. The last time they'd really had a memorable conversation was when they'd held hands as he walked her home.

"Can I sit with you today?" he asked, motioning to the bench.

"Be my guest." Maddie took a seat, folding her legs up underneath her and setting her lunch on the bench in front of her.

Gilbert straddled the bench so he could face her and began unpacking his lunch to give himself a moment to collect his words. Luckily Maddie made an attempt at conversation first.

"It's been a while since we talked, huh?" she said, swirling an apple slice in a little Tupperware container of peanut butter. "The newspaper club is a pretty full-time occupation."

"So Francis tells me," Gilbert chuckled. "Although he's stopped complaining as much since you got on board."

Maddie turned furiously red for some reason and looked so embarrassed that Gilbert had a momentary flash of fear that Francis had already won her over. He automatically discarded the idea, though—Francis would never have gotten so close to Maddie without gloating over it incessantly.

Gilbert chucked her under the chin. "What's with the face?"

Somehow her flush got even deeper. "Oh, it's nothing! Nothing at all."

She wilted a little as he scrutinized her. "It's not nothing," he said, opening his bag of chips, "but I'm not going to make you say anything you don't want to, Birdie."

A relieved breath heaved her shoulders slightly. "Thank you."

He laughed. "What for? It's just common courtesy."

"It's a courtesy that a lot of people have forgotten," she said with a smile. "So thank you."

With a shrug, he said, "You're welcome, then, if you wanna put it that way!"

They ate in silence for a moment. Then Gilbert broke it. "So, Birdie… Have you gotten a chance to think about the stuff we talked about last time?"

She stiffened ever so slightly. "Yeah," she said after a long pause. "I've been thinking a lot."

"About me or Francis?"

"Both." She managed a wry smile. "I'm not used to getting any attention at all, so I've had a lot to consider."

A tiny needle of jealousy jabbed at him. But at least she was considering him as well. "I understand. You haven't…you haven't made any decision yet, have you?"

Maddie shook her head. "I need to get to know you two better before I can do that."

Gilbert steeled himself and said, "Well, how about I take you out Friday night so you can get started getting to know me?"

A hot blush crept across her cheeks. "Um."

Her deer-in-the-headlights expression unwound his nerves enough to make him laugh. "Maddie, you look like I just pointed a gun at you. You're allowed to say no, you know." He caught a strand of her golden hair as it blew towards him in the wind. "I wouldn't like it, but you could say no."

Her teeth caught her lower lip as she hesitated. "…Yes."

It took a moment for Gilbert to register the word. "Yes?" He looked at her in surprise. "You sure?"

It was her turn to laugh at his expression. "Are you trying to dissuade me?"

"No!" That came out too sharply. Maddie giggled, and Gil felt a hint of a blush on his face. That was most of the reason he tried to be cocky and confident, never losing his cool—because when he did lose it, it usually meant blushing. And an albino blushing looked like blood on fresh snow. He hated it, and knowing that he was blushing usually made him blush deeper.

Maddie giggled and poked his cheek. "Look, I made you blush," she laughed. Their eyes met, and her laughter slowed to a stop. She was still touching his face.

Suddenly she jerked her hand back as though scalded. "I'm sorry, that was weird of me," she said, hiding behind a screen of blonde hair.

Gilbert reached through her hair to tilt her chin up. "Don't apologize," he said, praying that his blush was fading. "It was nice."

The lunch bell rang, startling them out of their reverie. Maddie gathered up her stuff quickly—she was a sucker for schedules and punctuality—but she spared him a breathtakingly sweet smile.

"So, Friday?"

"Friday. Hang on a sec," he said, plunging a hand into his pocket and fishing around inside. "Ah, here." He produced a purple Sharpie and offered it and his arm to Maddie. "Could I get your number so I can text you about it later?"

"Sure." Maddie printed her number across his forearm in small, carefully rounded numbers. "See you later!" Then she dashed off to class, leaving Gilbert in the courtyard alone.

As soon as she was gone, he pumped his fist into the air and grinned a wide, excited grin. "Yes!" He felt like he could take on the whole soccer team single-handedly. The only bad thing about this entire situation was that Friday was now going to take a small eternity to arrive.

o~O~o

**Hey, it's Gil**

Maddie smiled when she opened her phone to find the message waiting for her.

**Hi. So did you decide what we're going to do?**

**What would you say to dinner? There's a good place just down the road a little. We could walk down there around seven or so**

**Sounds like a plan! ^^ See you in class tomorrow.**

**Bye : )**

Maddie set her phone down on the couch and turned back to her homework, smiling to herself. It felt good to be finally doing something to reach a decision, and Maddie was glad Gilbert understood that she still hadn't come to a decision yet.

"What are you grinning about?" Britt asked from where she was flipping through TV channels idly.

"Nothing," Maddie said hurriedly, wiping the grin from her face. There was no way her roommate would approve of what she was doing, and Britt had a way of vocalizing her complaints until somebody addressed them.

Luckily, she wasn't feeling as nosy as usual today. Instead, Britt simply rolled her eyes and went back to flipping channels.

Maddie remained on the couch until she finished her homework, then closed her books and stored them in her backpack for tomorrow. Then she went upstairs to send an email to her mother.

And, accidentally, she left her phone on the couch.

Maddie might not have noticed her slip-up with her phone, but Britt did.

As soon as the blonde Canadian vanished into her room, Britt got up and dug through the couch cushions to where she had noticed the phone had fallen.

It wasn't fair. Francis had been flirting with Britt for ages, and just as she was starting to fall for him, this stupid clueless Canadian came in and ruined everything. Why couldn't she just leave well enough alone? She moped around homesick all the time, and Britt would've been much happier if she and her idiot brother had never come to Hetalia High.

That's why Britt didn't feel any guilt for her snooping. The pair of them were a nuisance. If she had actually cared about Maddie, Britt wouldn't have acted the way she did, but the fact was that she simply wanted the twins out of her hair.

Her hand hit something hard and square inside the couch. Closing her fingers on it, she withdrew the phone and unlocked it.

There was new message waiting from Gilbert Beilshmidt. **Oh and btw, thanks for agreeing to go out with me : )**

_Yes!_ Adulation shot through Britt. Francis had lost. Maddie was going out with Gilbert. Which meant that a certain Frenchman was rather unattached at the moment.

Just because she figured she might as well be informed while she was here, Britt scanned through the rest of the thread of conversation. When she was satisfied, she placed the phone on the arm of the couch and retreated to her room.

Francis was online, thankfully, when Britt logged on.

—_RockerQueen827 has signed on—_

_RockerQueen827: Hey_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Bonjour, ma chere**

**Irr****é****sistible46: What's going on?**

_RockerQueen827: I have something to tell you_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Onhonhon! A love confession? It's tasteless to do that online, you know**

_RockerQueen827: How many times do I have to tell you not to flatter yourself, idiot? It's about Maddie_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Oh?**

_RockerQueen827: She and Gilbert are going out this Friday_

**Irr****é****sistible46: …**

**Irr****é****sistible46: I see**

_RockerQueen827: Sorry_

_RockerQueen827: I know you liked her_

**Irr****é****sistible46: Merci**

**Irr****é****sistible46: For telling me, and for your sympathy**

_RockerQueen827: If you want, we could do something that evening, take your mind off things…_

_RockerQueen827: No need for you to be home alone, feeling pathetic_

**Irr****é****sistible46: I'd like that**

**Irr****é****sistible46: Thanks, Britt**

_RockerQueen827: No problem_

**Irr****é****sistible46: No, it was kind. Merci.**

**Irr****é****sistible46: I have to go. See you tomorrow**

_RockerQueen827: Yeah, bye_

—**Irr****é****sistible46 has logged out—**

Britt let out a slow breath, a slow smile growing on her face. Maddie was out of the way, and she had a date with Francis this Friday. Could things be going any better?

o~O~o

Francis swore loudly, shutting his computer with barely restrained violence. So Gilbert had a date with Madeline? Francis felt like he was in a footrace, watching his opponent take the last few steps to the finish line in slow motion. He knew it was too late to catch up, and all he could do was watch as his impending loss drew closer and closer to becoming a reality.

He got up and went to the kitchen to find something to eat before he went to bed. His eating schedule was rather disorganized now that he had no parents policing his eating habits, but it didn't bother him.

To his annoyance, Gilbert was there too, with study materials spread out across the kitchen table. He and Antonio were cramming for tomorrow's Calculus test, with Gilbird pecking about the table for the birdseed Gil had strewn there to keep the little eaglet occupied. When they heard Francis enter, they glanced up at him; Antonio smiled in greeting and went back to studying, but Gilbert hesitated, looking torn.

Francis opened the fridge and found leftovers from last night's dinner—something Spanish that Antonio had made. He popped the Tupperware container into the microwave and punched in the time.

While his dinner heated, he hunted around for a fork. Suddenly he realized Gilbert had stood up and was making his way over to him.

"Hey, _Frankreich_, can we talk?" he asked in a low voice.

"_Oui_, I don't see why not," Francis said coolly.

Antonio looked up at the pair of them, and instantly his expression grew wary. These days, Antonio either avoided the pair of them completely when they got into a discussion or played mediator, if he saw the ensuing conflict was going to be explosive. Most of the time, he managed to vanish into thin air before the fight started. It hadn't taken him long to be drawn into the battle—if he was anywhere nearby, both the German and the Frenchman would start demanding that he took their side. So far, he'd managed to cling to his neutrality, but only by a hair. "Er, I'm going to go see if Lovina texted me," he said, rising. "And check on Señor Tortuga." He made his way hurriedly to his own room.

Gilbert met Francis' gaze, his crimson eyes carefully blank. The expression looked odd on him—usually his emotions blew out of control at the slightest provocation, and ever since Maddie arrived, Francis' face had been provocation enough. "I asked Maddie out today. She said yes."

Even though he'd known beforehand, the words were a careless backhanded blow to his heart and ego. "Gloating isn't very sportsmanlike," Francis sneered.

"That's not it," Gil said irritably, a flash of anger lighting up his fiery red eyes. "Jeez, why do you have to jump to the worst conclusion? I'm saying that because she told me she hadn't made a decision yet. You could still win."

Shock froze Francis as he reached up to open the microwave door. "Why are you telling me this?" he asked finally. "You could have let me think you had the win secured."

Gilbert shrugged. "Maybe I should have. But I didn't."

Neither spoke another word. Gilbert sat back down and Francis went back to his room with his dinner in hand in utter silence.

Francis felt oddly exuberant. Gilbert's revelation had been the confidence boost that he needed—and it had given away something else, something he had not intended to share.

Gilbert wasn't playing this game to win; his eye wasn't fixed on the prize. He was too casual about it, too willing to compromise his victories by letting Francis find an advantage in them. This game should be ruthless when played by two participants of their skill—but Gilbert was lax.

Which meant Francis still had a chance. The runner in front of him could trip at any moment, and then Francis would be home free.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This is kinda weird. o.O I never make England the bad guy! I love himher/it/gender-neutral-chibi-thing! But I had my little FrUKCan love triangle going on so she has to be some kind of jerky to Maddie right?**

**Any guesses as to who will win? I've done my very best to make sure it's a secret, but I want to see who you suspect! Be sure and stay tuned-in the next chapter the truth will be revealed!**

**(Oh and don't forget that whoever loses will have a bonus alternate ending chapter at the end! So don't hate me or kill me or anything D:)**


	11. Date Night, Interrupted

**AN: And now, Escritoria proudly presents the climax of this fic! I hope you all enjoy it, though I get the feeling a bunch of fans will very much hate me after this... Remember, it isn't over yet, and whoever doesn't win gets a bonus chapter! So review and tell me what you thought, even if you hate me .**

* * *

><p>Maddie was a little surprised at her own anticipation as Friday drew nearer. She found her eyes meeting Gilbert's more than usual, and they'd share a smile before turning back to their work or continuing down the hallway.<p>

Unfortunately, her solitude during lunch had been completely shattered after Gilbert asked her out. The day after, she found him waiting for her at her usual bench. The next two days after that, it was Francis. Then Gilbert again on Friday. It was never both of them at once, however.

It made Maddie feel guilty to see the glares they gave each other. The easy but meaningful camaraderie she had seen between the two of them on her first day of school had completely evaporated, to be replaced by cold-shouldering and bitterness. It made her sad to think that she was the one who had caused this rift between such close friends, even if it wasn't her fault both of them had fallen for her.

Not to mention her indecision could be taken for a skillful maneuvering to play them off one another. Hopefully no one thought her cruel and sadistic enough for that, at least.

Friday came at last. The school day dragged by unceasingly, made even longer by not only the anticipation of a weekend, but weekend plans for once. Maddie had slept over at Feliciana's dorm before with Mei, and attended a superhero movie marathon her brother hosted with Ludwig, Kiku, and Yao there to watch, but this was a different sort of thing. Maddie had never been on a date before, so this was a special day for her.

When class finally let out, Maddie went straight back to her dorm. Almost four hours remained until Gilbert would come to meet her, so Maddie forced herself to sit down and complete her homework for the weekend, as was her Friday ritual. She hated cramming all of it into Sunday evening, which was what Alfred and most of her classmates did, and she loved the feeling of freedom once she'd finished and had the weekend completely to herself.

Homework done, Maddie occupied herself with a little baking. She'd promised Alfred she'd make him cookies this weekend, so she figured she might as well get that out of the way while she had some time to kill and needed to have something to occupy her hands. Another hour was spent that way, mixing the dough and baking several pans of the homemade cookies.

After she finished and cleaned up the kitchen, Maddie hurried upstairs to figure out what she would wear. She felt slightly silly about it, but she wanted her first date to go smoothly, so she picked her outfit carefully.

Since it was Gilbert, Maddie decided they probably wouldn't be going anywhere fancy, so she settled on a pair of white skinny jeans to wear with a silky blue top precisely the color of her eyes. Her hair went into a braid pulled over one shoulder, and for a while she debated about putting on some makeup, but decided against it. She never wore it, and she didn't want Gilbert to think she was trying too hard; she still wasn't completely sold on him, after all. Her footwear was the same as usual—her favorite pair of battered black Converse, which she never went without.

By the time she got back downstairs, the cookies had cooled somewhat, so she wrapped them in several gift bags with labels. The biggest was for Alfred and Ludwig, who would undoubtedly end up sharing theirs with Kiku and Yao, and there were two more for Feliciana and Mei as thank-you presents for their advice. She kept a handful of the golden cookies studded with pits of molten chocolate for herself and Britt.

Maddie shot a text to Alfred, letting him know his cookies were done and he could come pick them up. Her blonde British roommate wandered into the kitchen not long after the message was sent, summoned by the smell of cookies. "Yum," she said, sticking one into her mouth.

"Where are you going tonight?" Maddie asked, surprised by Britt's appearance. She wore dark jeans and a gray halter top with a Union Jack on it. The top revealed just a hint of cleavage, something Maddie had never seen on Britt before. Black leather combat boots adorned her feet and her normally bound-up hair fell loose about her shoulders. She even wore a brush of eyeliner to accentuate her bold green eyes.

"A date," she responded with a hint of smugness.

A swell of hope filled Maddie's chest. Could Alfred have finally gotten through to her? "With who?"

"Francis." Now Britt looked really smug.

Maddie felt like a hammer had just nailed her between the eyes. "With…with Francis?"

A triumphant gleam in her green eyes, Britt nodded smugly.

"I see." Maddie kept her face carefully smooth and fiddled with the sparkly silver ribbon tying closed the batch of cookies she intended for her brother. Why hadn't he come yet? He developed a warp-speed setting where food was concerned. "I'm going upstairs…"

Safe in her room, Maddie leaned against the door. _I guess Francis didn't really care after all_, she thought. It hurt to think that all the things he'd said to her were just empty words, not instilled with the truth she'd thought she'd found in them.

_It doesn't matter,_ she told herself firmly. _Francis is with Britt now, and I guess…you're with Gilbert._

o~O~o

Britt answered a knock at the door eagerly, thinking it might be Francis. Instead she found that idiot Alfred there.

His eyes popped at the sight of her. His gaze traveled up and down her body shamelessly, but for some reason she didn't find it insulting. Maybe because of the blatant awe and appreciation. "Wow," he breathed.

Disappointed, Britt glared at her roommate's twin. Impatient at him for not being who she'd hoped he would be, she asked, "What do you want, America?"

Alfred shook his head slightly to get his thoughts back in order. "Oh, Maddie texted me and said she had some cookies for me," he said, keeping his eyes downcast. Ever since she'd shot him down last time, he'd been blissfully more subdued around her. It was a little strange, actually. Sometimes she missed his warm smile.

But only sometimes.

"In the kitchen," Britt said, gesturing. "Yours have your name on them." She rolled her eyes. Maddie was so OCD sometimes.

"Thanks." He passed her and went to claim his treat.

Britt trailed along behind to make sure he didn't get into any mischief. Alfred glanced at her briefly, but it was enough for her to catch the flash of pain in his eyes at the sight of her.

"Going out tonight?" he asked with a brave attempt at nonchalance.

"Mhm. With Francis." For some reason, the wash of pride that had swelled in her chest when she told Maddie about the date didn't come, however. In fact, her victory suddenly felt rather hollow.

_I don't understand!_ Britt howled internally. _I've wanted this for so long, and when he's around, it just means _nothing_!_

Alfred blinked slowly. "I see."

Why wasn't he jealous? He was obviously head-over-heels for her. What was with this uncaring face?

In a fit of some hot, furious emotion, Britt added, "It's good that Maddie got a date too, so she won't be here all by herself."

That elicited the reaction she wanted. Alfred's gaze snapped to hers, full of surprise and a hint of hurt. Obviously, Maddie hadn't shared this with her own twin. His voice was carefully controlled when he asked, "Really? With who?"

"Gilbert."

Alfred's brows drew together angrily. He snatched the bag of cookies Maddie had made and left without a word.

Britt felt a strange hollowness in her chest when Alfred slammed the door shut. What was with him, anyway? What right did he have to look at her like that when she'd made it clear that she preferred Francis over him? But she couldn't shake the memory of the pain in his impossibly blue eyes when she'd said no to him. And no matter how many times she kicked him while he was down, that pain never turned to anger. If he just got angry with her, just once, then she wouldn't have to feel the weight of this _guilt_ anymore.

Or was it even guilt? She didn't need to feel guilty for turning him down—she never had when saying no to a guy before. And that didn't explain her desire for him to be angry at her so that this confused emotion would go away.

Gilbert came to pick up Maddie, and Maddie glowed with shy happiness as they set off together towards the town. Francis came for Britt not long after. She took his arm and made herself smile and reassured herself that this was what she wanted. And she firmly put out of her mind the niggling thought that maybe what she'd felt when she rejected Alfred wasn't guilt, but the knowledge that the choice she was making was the wrong one.

o~O~o

As they walked towards the restaurant, Gilbert's strong hand wrapped around Maddie's. "Is this okay?" he asked, glancing at her with his hypnotizing red eyes.

She nodded and swung their hands a little, eyes downcast to hide her blush. "Thanks for taking me out," she said timidly.

He laughed and squeezed her hand. "I should be thanking you for saying yes," he chuckled.

Maddie flushed deeper. "That was nice of you to say," she managed.

Another snicker from Gilbert. He raised their entwined hands and brushed a knuckle across her flushed cheek. "Oh, and by the way, I like long walks in the moonlight and bouquets of fresh roses," he said with a wink.

Her puzzlement must have showed on her face, because Gilbert elaborated, "You said you wanted to get to know me."

"But…you were joking, right?" she asked hesitantly.

"Do I look like a roses kind of guy to you?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow as he gestured at his outfit. Ripped black jeans and a German metal band shirt with a short-sleeved button-down gray shirt over that, and a black leather wristband with a metal cross on his wrist. Altogether he looked very punkish, and not at all like the kind of guy who'd like roses.

"No, I guess not," she said with a slight laugh. "So what do you really like? Ludwig told me you play the bass."

Gilbert's eyes lit up at the mention of the instrument, and Maddie knew she had hit on something special to him. "Yeah, I do," he said. "It wasn't easy getting the administration to let me bring it here, either, but I got to bring it if I don't play after six or so. It's awesome. I don't know what I would've done without it."

"I can tell you really love it," Maddie said. "How long have you been playing?"

"For about ten years, since I was eight," he replied. "You should've seen me back then," he added, sounding amused. "Basses are pretty big instruments, and it looks really funny to see a little kid play it."

Maddie laughed, and from there the conversation went on seamlessly. She'd never really sat down and had a long, uninterrupted conversation with Gilbert, but somehow she felt as though they'd been doing this forever.

They arrived at the restaurant, which wasn't anything special—but then a high school kid's funds were not limitless—just as it was starting to rain, and sat down at a table for four. The pair of them chatted away—about their families and lives back home, their hobbies, their friends at school and their teachers. Maddie hadn't had this much fun since she left Canada, and she was grateful to Gilbert for that.

As they were engaged in a heated debate on which sport was better, hockey or football, Gilbert's eyes suddenly locked on something over her shoulder. His laughing expression faded into disbelief that was soon replaced by a hot red glare.

"I can't believe he would stoop so low," he grumbled to himself.

"Huh?"

Maddie almost turned around to see what he was staring at before a very familiar voice said in her ear, "_Bonjour_, Maddie! What a coincidence running into you two here! Mind if we join you?"

Maddie was paralyzed. _This isn't happening!_ But there was no denying it. Francis was here, right in front of her, beaming as though nothing was out of the ordinary, with a furiously glowering Britt at his side.

Gilbert glared scarlet fury at his roommate. "You're shameless," he spat.

"What?" Francis said innocently, taking a seat next to Maddie. "Britt and I were going to eat here already. We might as well double since we are both here!"

Britt looked about as happy as the situation as Gilbert. She sat down slowly and glared down at her menu with murder in her eyes, her hands fisting white-knuckled on the laminated cardstock while she refused to look at anyone.

Maddie wished she could just vanish. This was so humiliating! What was Francis thinking? Her cheeks were hot as Francis tried to start a conversation with Gilbert as if nothing was wrong. The white-haired German stared back stonily at him. Attempts at conversation with Maddie fell equally flat because she was too mortified to do anything but mumble and trip over her own tongue. The Frenchman didn't even bother to say a word to his fuming date, as though he knew she was a time bomb ticking. All she needed was one word to set her off.

Eventually, even Francis realized that the awkwardness of the situation simply couldn't be ignored and fell silent. The quiet ensued until their food arrived, and was only broken then by Maddie thanking the waiter before becoming even more icily awkward than before.

The others began picking at their food, but Britt remained wordlessly still, staring at her plate with a heartbroken look on her face that Maddie and Gilbert tried to ignore out of courtesy. Francis just seemed not to see it.

Abruptly Britt stood up, rattling the plates loudly as she did so. Her face was in shadow, but Maddie saw a single tear slide down the bridge of her nose and fall on her plate.

"Britt…?" Maddie asked worriedly.

"Shut up." Britt's voice was flat, cold.

Maddie recoiled like she'd been slapped. "But… I…"

"Just shut up!" Scrubbing at the tears running down her face, Britt ran out of the restaurant, banging the door loudly against the wall as she went.

"Wait!" Maddie got up and took off after her friend. She was barely aware of Gilbert and Francis surging to their feet as well, because by then she had already raced out of the restaurant after Britt.

While they were in the restaurant, the drizzle had turned into a deluge. Rain poured down in sheets and pattered loudly against cars and windows, drowning out Maddie's shouts as she chased after Britt. Maddie could hardly see through all the droplets clinging to her glasses.

Britt ran through the parking lot, but stumbled and fell just as she reached the sidewalk. With a defeated slump to her shoulders, she sat there sobbing.

Maddie knelt beside her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Britt… I don't know what to say. I'm sorry, I didn't—"

"Just shut up!" Britt shrieked, slapping Maddie's hand away. The tears on her face were swallowed by the rain, but her eyes were red and sobs heaved her shoulders. "What's wrong with you? Why couldn't you just make a decision instead of leading both of them on? I could have made him happy!"

Stunned, Maddie sat back. Britt slammed her hands down on the concrete, sending water flying everywhere. "I wish you'd never come here! If you'd never come here, then I could have been with Francis. But you just had to go interfere, and now he doesn't want me, even though you're not sure you want him!"

Tears stung Maddie's eyes. "I'm sorry," she said hoarsely. "I didn't mean to…"

"But you did! And I hate you for it!" Britt's baleful green eyes and furious howl echoed through Maddie's mind, rebounding, magnifying, hurting more and more with each pass.

Slowly Maddie got to her feet. And then she was running, tearing off through the rain like Britt had a moment before. She could tell her tears apart from the raindrops because they poured hot down her cheeks, burning like the fires of judgment licking at her face.

o~O~o

Alfred crouched beside Britt. What was he doing here? Had he followed her? No, likely he'd been stalking Maddie and Gilbert. "That was something," he said after a long pause.

"Go away, Alfred," she heaved. "No one wants you around either."

"I'm not going anywhere."

Intense fury surged through Britt. "That wasn't a question!" Overwhelmed with rage, she raised her hand to slap him.

To her surprise, his hand caught her wrist in an iron grip. He wasn't wearing his glasses, which were useless anyway because of the rain, so she could see that his eyes were deadly serious.

"I don't particularly like being slapped," he said softly. "But I would let you if it was just me. I probably did something to deserve it anyway." He smirked humorlessly. This was a side of Alfred she'd never seen, and it scared her. "But it isn't me. It's Maddie you want to hit. And I can't allow that."

So this cold stranger wasn't a vengeful monster. He was a protector. With the way Alfred always acted, it was hard to imagine him dangerous—but when someone he loved was hurt, he was as dangerous a man as Britt had ever seen. He was…well, a hero.

For the first time, she understood Alfred's heart. It was much deeper than she'd realized, and his love went all the way into the depths of his soul.

She swallowed thickly, trapped by the ice in his eyes. But even through that ice she could see it when he looked at her, that longing, that helpless longing. He knew that he'd lost, but he couldn't help but mourn for her. "It's her fault," she managed. "Francis…"

"Don't be stupid." His sneer made Britt's eyes widen in outrage. "You just want somebody to blame. It's a bad situation—nobody's at fault. Besides, what are you thinking, wanting to date that jerkwad? What he did to you in there was just awful. Do you really still love him after that?"

Another sob clawed its way up her throat. He'd hurt her so much. And she'd _known_ he would. Why had she wanted him so badly when she'd known it could have no other ending but this?

A broken heart couldn't cry alone. It didn't matter who it was—Britt needed a shoulder to cry on.

Even if it was Alfred's.

When he opened his arms, she fell into them helplessly and bawled into his chest. Her fingers fisted involuntarily in his bomber jacket and she clutched herself as close to his warm comfort as she could.

He lifted her gently onto his lap and held her while she cried, stroking her hair and rocking her back and forth as he murmured soothing words to her. Words like, "It's going to be okay," and "You're done with him now," and "I won't ever let him hurt you again."

What impertinence, to think she needed someone to protect her. She was made of tougher stuff than Maddie.

Or was she? If so, what was she doing here, sobbing in the rain in the arms of a man she didn't even care about?

She remembered the indecision she'd felt at rejecting him. And she remembered the despair she'd caused him, and the knowledge that his feelings wouldn't just go away that easily, with one simple refusal. How had she always instinctively known that they were bigger than that, stronger than rejection, immortal? No matter how many times she tried to stamp it out, his love would not be destroyed.

No, his feelings wouldn't go away. Any more than her own would.

Britt kissed Alfred so hard that their teeth clinked together painfully, but she didn't shrink from the pain. Instead, she kissed him harder, demandingly, infuriated at Francis and Maddie and Alfred and at herself for not ever knowing what was good for her, and for spending so long hating the man who had been meant for her all along.

Surprised by her ferocity, he took a moment to respond. When he did respond, he met her lips unhurriedly, soothingly, calming her furious kiss. Eventually her lips slowed to meet the pace of his, and only then did he pull back.

"Better?" he asked with the ghost of a smile.

She pounded a fist into his chest. "Idiot."

His mouth descended on hers again, and she was completely helpless to refuse him. She'd never felt so much when she was kissing someone before, and—although she'd deny it to her grave—when their lips met, she never wanted it to stop.

"I love you," he panted when he broke away for air. "I don't know what this is, but I hope it's a confession of some sort."

Instead of answering, she cleared her throat with a blush and got to her feet, wobbling slightly. "Let's get out of here. We're going to catch our deaths of cold."

He laughed and stood. "Okay, then. Whenever you're ready to confess to me."

Her cheeks darkened. "You're an idiot. A _bloody_ idiot!"

"Well, then, you just made out with a bloody idiot," Alfred said smugly.

Her fist pounded his chest. "…Fine! I love you too, Alfred."

Eyes glowing in a way that made her stomach swoop dizzyingly, Alfred gathered her into his arms and kissed her once more. "Thank you," he whispered against her mouth.

"Alright then," she harrumphed, extricating herself from his arms. "Let's go get cleaned up."

"Yes, ma'am," he said with a cheeky grin. Would she never get the upper hand with him?

Well, for right now, that was okay, as long as he was by her side. She'd figure it out.

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><p><strong>AN: Awwwww USUK! Make our feels all better!<strong>

**Next chapter the ultimate climax will happen and hopefully I will win back much love :D It's really dramatic and I'm proud of it, so please stay tuned~**


	12. Kiss and Tell

**AN: DISCLAIMER FIRST. Read the end note after the chapter. DO NOT JUST SKIP OVER IT. READ IT. And review :D**

**Okay on to my usual rambling! I love this chapter, a lot actually :D It's short but it's super dramatic! Get ready to have your feels assaulted.**

**In other news, I have started posting a new fic! For all my France fans out there, it is a France x Joan of Arc, which is possibly the best and most underappreciated pairing in the entire Hetalia fandom. I hope everyone checks it out ^^**

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><p>No matter how hard Maddie ran, she couldn't outpace Britt's accusations. That she shouldn't have come here. That she ruined people's happiness just by existing.<p>

As she ran through the park back on the Hetalia High campus, she tripped and fell sprawling on the gravel pathway. The gravel dug stinging into her hands and made them bleed, but Maddie couldn't get up. She just couldn't run anymore.

She curled up in a ball and sobbed so hard that her throat hurt as the choking heaves built up against each other trying to get out. She hated herself for everything. The only good thing about her was her book smarts—but what did those mean in the real world? Her intelligence had done her no good in this situation, and her indecisive heart had hurt so many people. Gilbert, Francis, Britt, even Alfred. If she'd just been able to choose, he might have had a chance of being with Britt. But she hadn't. She'd drawn out everyone else's suffering and hadn't even noticed she was doing it. She was the worst type of sadist—the one who couldn't even see the trail of heartache she left in her wake.

Maddie wanted to go home. _Canada_ home. She wanted to be a child again and curl up in her mama's lap, where everything was okay because Mama could _make_ everything be okay.

No, even that wouldn't ease her guilt. Maddie just wanted to stop existing for a while, to make this terrible hurt go away. The hurt that came from knowing that your very existence was damaging to those you loved the most.

She must have lost consciousness for a while, because when she woke up, Gilbert was there. It was still raining, but he had her in his arms and was lifting her up, talking to her. "Maddie? Maddie, oh _Gott_, please be okay."

"Gil…" Maddie felt a little strength coming back to her as she felt the warmth of another living body heat her own cold one. Once again she could register the sensation of rain kissing her skin, of heat and wet and silver hair glowing in the dark.

"Oh, thank goodness." Gilbert's grip on her tightened as he clutched her closer. "Don't _scare_ me like that, Birdie!"

"I'm sorry," she whispered. A few tears chased their way down her nose.

"Don't be," he said soothingly. "It wasn't your fault. Britt had no right to say those things about you—it was Francis who set her up just so he could crash our date."

Her hands fisted in his shirt. "But if I hadn't been…"

"Shh." The lights of a building were overhead. The boy's dorm? Warmth, the contrast from the outside so acute it was almost painful, washed over her. "I'm going to patch up your hands for you, okay?" he said gently as he set her down on a kitchen counter. "Can you sit? I'm going to get you a towel."

She nodded mutely and he disappeared into the bathroom. When he emerged, he had a towel slung across his shoulders and one in his hands for her.

With more gentleness than she'd known his strong hands could muster, he brushed away her tears with the towel. "Don't cry," he soothed. "Here." He set the towel in her hands so she could dry herself and used the towel on his shoulders to rub the moisture from his hair as he searched the cabinets for the first aid kit.

Maddie felt a little better once her clothes were dried to mere dampness and her glasses were clean again. By then the towel was finger-painted vivid crimson from her cut hands.

"Whoops," Gilbert said with a laugh as he guided her hands under the faucet. "Guess I should've thought of that." He cleaned her hands and spread antibiotic gel on her cuts before bandaging them. As he worked, he grew somber and unnaturally silent. When he had her all wrapped up, he turned her hands up and kissed her palms almost reverently. "Really. Don't scare me like that, okay?" he said quietly, his face still bent over her injured hands, and Maddie realized that he really had been afraid for her safety.

More tears pressed against her lids and spilled out over her cheeks. "Hey, hey," he said. "I thought we were over this!" He drew her into his arms. "Shh. Britt was wrong. _I'm_ glad you came here, Maddie. Don't ever doubt that people here care about you and want you to be here. You should hear Ludwig going on about you, not to mention Feli and Mei! They all think you're awesome, Birdie, and so do I."

Maddie felt so safe in Gil's strong arms, so secure. "Thank you," she whispered brokenly. "Thank you, Gilbert."

"No biggie," he said nonchalantly. His hand stroked across her hair, a gesture so warm and comforting that it made his offhand treatment of his care seem ridiculous.

"No, it was big for me." Maddie pulled back and smiled at him as best she could through the remains of her tears. "Gil, I'm choosing you."

Francis couldn't do it. He didn't care enough about her to allow her to have even a single date with Gilbert when he knew he still had a fighting chance—so he'd tried to wreck it, and had hurt everyone else in the bargain. Gilbert had been so sweet to her. He had even chased after her through the rain, and he had never once said an unkind thing to her. In his presence, she had only ever been happy.

Gilbert's red eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Really."

"Awesome." His hand, which had been resting on her shoulder, moved upwards to frame her face, ever so slowly and gently. Deliberately, he leaned closer, hesitating to see if she would stop him.

She didn't. She couldn't dream of wanting to. So his lips met hers in a soft, leisurely slow kiss, her virgin lips fumbling while his experienced ones guided her through the contact. Kissing him, Maddie was sure that she had made the right decision. Nothing had ever made her so happy as knowing for sure that he cared, that he was honest with every word and every action. With him, there was no manipulation, no selfishness. Just…_this_.

The sound of the door opening made them come apart. Maddie flushed when she saw Francis at the door, partly with embarrassment but mostly with pain at seeing him.

The Frenchman clapped his hands mockingly. "My, my, well done, Gil."

Gilbert's eyes grew dangerous. "Francis…"

"I suppose I must concede the victory to you, my friend." Francis winked devilishly. "Congratulations."

Those words punched through Maddie's chest, each one a knife twisted viciously into her flesh. "Victory?" she managed after several tries.

Red eyes full of panic turned on her. "_Nein_, _nein_, Birdie! You gotta understand, it's not like that—"

"It was a competition," she whispered. "You never… It was…" Hot tears of shame and humiliation brimmed over her lids. "I can't believe I really thought…"

"Birdie, listen to me," he said urgently, taking her face in his hands and brushing her tears away with his thumbs. She jerked out of his grasp. Humiliation and agony burned through her in equal measure, heating her cheeks and sending a fresh gush of tears boiling over. "You don't know the whole story—"

"I know all I need to!" she cried. Sorrow stabbed at her with each word he said, each excuse, each _lie_. He'd been lying the whole time. Why hadn't she listened? Why did she have to lose her heart to such a pair of sadists?

Maddie's feet hit the floor. She pushed past Gilbert, ignoring his pleas, and ran out into the rain again.

All lies. All of it. Neither of them had ever cared about her. Everything they made her feel, everything she'd thought they felt for her—it was nothing to them. Empty. She was just another conquest, just another prize to be won and forgotten, to gather dust on an empty shelf.

It took three tries for Maddie to fit her key into the lock and burst into her dorm room, still sobbing. She threw herself across her bed and clutched Kumajirou tight, wailing into his fur until the rhythm of her sorrow lulled her to sleep.

o~O~o

Gilbert sat down on the kitchen floor hard, pushing his hands into his hair. How had everything gone so wrong?

_Oh, Maddie._ The hurt on her face had been a punch to the gut. Guilt pooled in his stomach like acid, burning and biting his insides.

But this wasn't all his fault. Partly, but most of the blame lay at the feet of the man who was enough of a jerk to tell her about the kissing competition and annul everything they had ever said to her, no matter how true it had been.

"Francis." Suddenly he found himself on his feet, stalking towards his _friend_.

The amused grin Francis wore made Gilbert so furious his vision was tinged with red. "I suppose we can call this one a tie." He had the _gall_ to say that!

Gilbert's fist took Francis across the jaw, and the Frenchman went sprawling. Before he hit the floor, Gilbert caught his collar and rammed him up against the wall.

"You little weasel!" he bellowed, and added another few choice names in both English and German. "How could you do that to her? Don't you care about her? Saying you love her doesn't mean anything if you can make her cry like that and then joke about it!"

The amusement had drained from Francis' face. "I just…"

"It was never about her," Gilbert growled. "Or maybe it started that way, but all you cared about was beating me. _Gott_, you make me sick!" He threw him to the floor with disgust. "Don't you dare ever hurt her. I'll kill you if you _ever_ make her cry like that again."

Suddenly all the heat went out of Gilbert and he sat down on the floor again, staring at nothing. "Oh, _Gott_. She hates me now," he said quietly. "She really hates me."

Francis still looked shell-shocked. He offered weakly, "Maybe I can…"

"No! Just stay out of it!" Gilbert snarled. Then he deflated once more. "_Gott_… She's it for me, and she hates me… I'll never meet another girl like her. I love her, Francis." He barked a humorless laugh. "Did you hear that? I love her! I love her and it's too late now because you had to go crush her heart!"

A look of utmost misery covered Francis' face. "_Mon dieu_… What did I…"

"You just ruined everything," Gilbert said softly. "That's what you did, Francis. You—ruined—everything."

Gilbert had never had his heart broken before. He hadn't been aware that _heartache_ was a literal term.

All he could do through the ripping pain in his chest was put his forehead to his knees and sit there on the floor in silence, mourning the loss of everything.

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><p><strong>AN: Giiiiiiiiil... ;^;<strong>

**Okay so my commentary! I do not hate France, not by any stretch. I love him. And while I made him the D-baggiest D-bag EVER in this chapter, there _is_ a reason. In my mind, France does really love Canada, but he's not quite sure how to. He's too used to not feeling anything-actually loving somebody unsettles him. He just isn't sure how to handle his emotions. This is the first time he's ever been in love, and who didn't screw up their first relationship? That is why France acted the way he did, and why I wrote this the way I did. So don't hate me! I was just being true to my headcanon.**

**So the contest is now over, but the plot continues... What will come next? Review! Flame me for making France a D-bag, whatever, I like any kind of feedback :D**

**Much love,**

**~Escritoria**


	13. A Heart That Is Broken

**AN: Hey guys! Happy New Year! Sorry to leave you hanging on the depressing part. Hope this chapter is a good one! ^^ Please review, I got a ton last chapter and it made me very happy :D**

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><p>Maddie left her room once that evening, and that was to leave the packages of cookies she'd made in front of Mei and Feliciana's doors. She couldn't bear to see them—it would be too painful to face them, after all the help they gave her, and tell them they had been playing her the whole time. After she'd been so emphatic towards them about how sure she was that Gil and Francis cared, she couldn't look them in the eyes and tell them she'd been wrong.<p>

She wanted to see Britt almost as little as Gilbert or Francis, so she tried to remain in her room as much as possible. Whenever she had to leave, to get something to eat or use the restroom, she tried to be as quick and stealthy as possible.

Until Saturday morning, her attempts to avoid people were successful—but then, around ten that day, her brother showed up to visit her.

He came in without knocking, as always. When he opened the door she was tearing through her bookshelf, trying to find something to read that had no romance in it whatsoever. The search was not going well.

"Hey, sis," he said. His voice was uncharacteristically volume-controlled, and for that she was glad. "How are you?"

"Fine," she said, attempting a brave face for him. He didn't know about her troubles with Gilbert and Britt, and she didn't want him to find out. Not only did she not want him to worry, but she really wasn't in the mood to be commiserated with right now. She just wanted to sit here and cry alone until she could put on a smile for everyone, even if she didn't feel it. This entire thing had been so humiliating—she didn't want anyone to know how much she'd been hurt. "You?" She had to turn her back to him to swallow a sudden rush of tears.

"Hey, look at me," he said, gently turning her towards him.

As hard as she tried to swallow her tears, she could feel them brimming over when she looked into his concerned eyes.

He pulled her into his arms and hugged her tight. "Maddie, why is it I'm not allowed to hide with you, but you can hide with me?"

The tears were coming harder and faster now, and her hands fisted in his Avengers T-shirt as she began to sniffle. "I—I didn't want you to…worry," she told him, her words broken by her tears.

"I saw Britt yelling at you," he said softly. "Of course I'd worry."

She pulled back slightly. "You saw? How?"

"Well, I might've been sort of stalking you and Gilbert," he said. At least he had the decency to look slightly embarrassed.

Gilbert's name was a stab to her already bruised and battered heart. The knowledge that Alfred had been stalking them on their date didn't even bother her through the sudden spike of pain that lanced through her at the word. She buried her face in Alfred's bomber jacket again and began to sob.

"What is it?" he asked, alarmed. "Did that jerky German do something to you?"

All that Maddie could do was cling to him and cry and cry and cry. She felt so ridiculous, so childish, sobbing her eyes out over someone who didn't care for her at all, but she couldn't help it. She'd really fallen in love with him. She'd wanted so badly to believe in his heart, to believe that she could carve out a place for herself in it. But his heart had been even further away than she'd realized. She could never touch it, much less make it warm and alive and wholesome.

"So stupid," she choked. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't apologize!" Alfred was coldly furious. His anger was explosive, to be sure, but when he was really upset his voice and his gaze grew icy and cutting. "I'll kill him," he growled.

"No," she objected. How could the thought of Alfred hurting Gilbert make her so sad? She really _was_ stupid. "It was my fault… Britt warned me, and I…"

"He hurt you, and I won't forgive him for it," Alfred growled, tightening his arms around her.

"Please don't," she begged. "I'm sick of this. I just want to pretend it never happened. Besides, you could get in trouble and get expelled, and then I'd be all alone." She huddled closer to him at that thought.

His jaw was taut as silence fell over them. "Fine," he said at last. "But just so I don't get expelled."

Hot tears chased down Maddie's face. "Thank you."

Rocking her back and forth slightly, as their mother had done to them as children, Alfred smoothed her hair and murmured softly to her. "It's going to be okay," he told her. She wanted so badly to believe it, but this bleakness in her heart was just so painful. How could she have fallen so deeply in love with a liar?

The last thing she remembered was Alfred gently lifting her onto her bed and tucking Kumajirou under her arm. "Sweet dreams, baby sister," he whispered to her, and then she was floating in a sweet black night where she didn't hurt anymore.

o~O~o

Gilbert glared at Britt. "You don't have the right to forbid me to see her," he growled.

"Like heck I don't!" she sneered. "This is my dorm, in case you've forgotten, and I'm saying you can't come in!"

"Please," he said. Gilbert never begged, but he was willing to get down on his knees this very second and implore Britt to let him see Maddie. He'd meant to come as soon as the dorm visiting hours commenced, but it had taken a good half an hour to dissuade Francis from insisting on accompanying him. It was possible that seeing Gilbert might hurt her even more than seeing Francis, but it was him who stood to lose the most if this didn't get fixed.

Unfortunately, Alfred had beaten him there, and had figured out what was wrong with Maddie. He passed the information on to Britt, and now Gilbert was forbidden to see Maddie.

Britt was not moved by pleading. "Look," she said curtly, "Alfred's here. He's in the kitchen, so he doesn't know it's you here at the door, but if I tell him he'll likely beat the living daylights out of you. So I would recommend that you don't push me on this."

"Britt, please," he pled. "This is a huge misunderstanding. Just let me talk to her, I'm begging you."

The green-eyed Brit leaned back through the doorway and called, "Alfred!"

Gil cursed, but he stood his ground, waiting for Alfred to show up at the door.

"What's going on?" Alfred slipped an arm around Britt's waist before looking up to see who it was. When he did, his eyes grew colder than ice slicks. It was odd to see such an angry, unfriendly expression on a face so similar to Maddie's. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"I need to see Maddie," Gilbert said. "Please, you've got to understand. I never meant to hurt her. I did something stupid, but I'm really in love with her, honestly. You've got to let me talk to her and tell her the whole story!"

Alfred clenched his fist, and Gilbert steeled himself for a blow. It never fell, however. With obvious effort, Alfred forced his fingers to open into an innocuous, useless dangling posture.

"I promised her I wouldn't fight you," he said coldly, "But I swear that I will make you regret it if you try to speak to her. The last thing that girl needs in her life is the likes of you."

"Alfred, I'm begging you." Gilbert looked Alfred square in the eyes. "I know I've hurt her really bad, and I know she probably hates me, but I love her. If she doesn't feel the same way now, I probably deserve it, but I couldn't live with myself if I just let her be hurt because of me without trying to fix it."

Alfred was merciless. "Get out of here before I do something I'll regret, Beilshmidt."

Disappointment slumped Gilbert's shoulders. With a sigh, he sat down against the wall of the hallway across from the room.

Alfred looked dangerous. "Gilbert…"

"I'm not going to bother you," Gil said. "But could you at least tell her I'll be out here if she wants to talk to me?"

"What kind of idiot do I look like to you?" Alfred demanded. "That's my little sister in there, bawling her eyes out—because of _you_. There's no way I'm going to tell her that you're here!"

Gilbert shrugged. "I'll still be here."

The pair of them shut the door and went back inside, but Gilbert stayed on the floor of the hallway. People gave him weird looks as they passed him, but he didn't get up. To keep himself occupied, he played games on his phone in between attempts to call or text Maddie.

Gilbert put his head down on his knees miserably after sending the umpteenth text. Every word he said and typed had been the truth. But it wasn't going to be enough if he couldn't see her face-to-face.

He really cared this time. It was odd, but he did care. He loved her, and he had to make this right, no matter what happened to him.

That was where Francis had gone wrong, he thought. For the first time in his life, Gilbert didn't care about what a girl could give him, but what he could offer her. He didn't feel unselfish, but he'd never wanted to take anything from Maddie. Just her smile was enough.

"But you made her cry, _dummkopf_," he growled to himself. "So much for that smile."

o~O~o

Maddie heard her phone ring, and she saw the messages arrive, but she didn't answer them. She couldn't even bring herself to read them. Finally she just shut the thing off, so the ringing couldn't torment her any more.

Alfred hadn't gone home, as far as she knew. Once, when Maddie had peeked out to see if he was still there after she awoke from her nap, she saw him and Britt on the couch with the TV on, but neither of them were watching. They were talking together in low, serious voices—probably about her. It made Maddie feel bad to have worried her brother so much, but she was also glad to see he and Britt not arguing.

Maddie received a shock when Britt reached forward to touch Alfred's face. Alfred smiled at her, a little forcedly but with real warmth, and leaned into her touch.

The blond American leaned forward to press a kiss to Britt's lips, slow but not chaste either. And Britt didn't slap him for it. In fact, her arms went around his neck and she met his kiss willingly. It didn't look like a first kiss, either—when had that happened?

A hot punch of agony seared through Maddie's ribcage, and she retreated back into her room, putting her hand to her chest.

Of course she was happy for Alfred, but it also brought painful memories welling up to the surface. The ghost of Gilbert's lips on hers, something she'd been struggling to repress, was the source of the pain in her chest. She touched her fingers to her lips, trying to shove down the emotions rising in her at the memory. That had been her first kiss, and it had been so magical.

Until she found out that it hadn't meant anything.

She felt so soiled. A girl's first kiss was something precious and special, or it should be, at least, but hers had been ruined.

Another round of tears was coming on. Maddie lay down on her bed and tried to block every thought from her mind.

o~O~o

Feliciana was about to go visit Ludwig when she almost tripped over Gilbert as she skipped down the hallway.

"Whoa! Slow down there," Gil said. "You almost ran the awesome me over!"

"Gilbert? What are you doing on the floor?" Feliciana asked, crouching next to her boyfriend's older brother.

"Starving," he groaned. "No, actually, I'm kinda on a strike or something. Alfred and Britt won't let me see Maddie, so I'm going to sit out here until I can talk to her."

"Why can't you see her?" Feliciana asked quizzically, tilting her head to the side in puzzlement. "Did you do something bad to her?"

He scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "If you're asking if I slept with her and dumped her, then it's a no," he said. "But I did something pretty stupid…"

"What?" Feliciana asked, curious and concerned for her friend.

Reluctantly, with more embarrassment than Feliciana had known the shameless German had in him, he told the story of how he and Francis had turned their affections and competitiveness over Maddie into a competition to see who could steal a kiss first. But she could tell, while he told the story, that the way he had acted and the pain he had caused Maddie made him very sad and ashamed, and that, no matter what it had started out as, he really did love her.

"She won't answer her phone or text messages either," he concluded. "I don't know what to do…"

"I need to go get Mei," Feliciana said, rising. "But we'll make sure Maddie knows you're here, okay? And we'll try to make her listen to the messages."

"Thank you." Gilbert looked relieved. "Oh, and one more thing before you go?"

"_Si_?"

"Can I get a sandwich or something? The awesome me is starving down here," he whined. His stomach gurgled unhappily to emphasize the point.

Feliciana giggled. "I'll go get the leftover pasta, okay?" she said brightly before vanishing back into her dorm.

"You're a lifesaver," he gasped when she set the Tupperware container in his hands. Immediately he began to inhale the food. "Oh, and could you please not tell _mein bruder_ about this?" he asked a little sheepishly. "He has enough to nag me about already."

"No problem!" she giggled, saluting him. Then she skipped off to collect Mei from the Mah Jong game she was playing with Yao and Kiku.

When Mei heard that Maddie was having a crisis, she made her hasty apologies to Yao and Kiku—Kiku's apology included a kiss on the cheek, which made him turn redder than the crimson of Japan's flag—and headed back to the girl's dorms with Feliciana.

"So, you really think Gilbert's sincere about this, Italy?" Mei asked skeptically as they hurried across the campus.

"_Si_, I do," Feliciana said. "I've been together with Ludwig for a long time, and I was always his friend before that, but I've never seen Gil be so serious as now. He really feels sad that she's crying."

Feliciana's heart hurt a little to think about what Gilbert must be going through. If she'd hurt Ludwig on accident, she would have cried until her tears were all gone; Gilbert was too tough to cry, so he had to keep a strong face and work his hardest to make things right again. But since Alfred and Britt wouldn't even let him try, he needed Feliciana and Mei's help to get Maddie's attention.

"We have to do this for Maddie, as her friends," Feliciana said firmly. "We can't let her be sad if there's a way to get her spirits up again!"

Luckily, Alfred and Britt saw no reason to refuse to let the two of them in—although Alfred did spare a freezing glance for Gilbert. They hurried to Maddie's room.

Feliciana knocked on the door, suddenly timid. "Maddie? It's Feliciana and Mei. Can we come in?"

An audible sniffle came from inside. "Come in," she said, obviously trying to sound normal.

The two friends entered the room. As always, it was perfectly clean, but the bedclothes were rumpled and tossed about from being used all night and all morning. Maddie hadn't bothered to brush her hair either, and it clumped in wild tangles around her head. She still wore her baby-blue pajamas, and she was gripping her teddy bear tightly, like a lifeline or a shield.

Although she was making a valiant effort to hide it, her beautiful big blue eyes were red and watery. "Hi, guys," she said quietly.

"Maddie," Mei said, and Feliciana heard the heartbreak in the word. Feliciana felt the same way—it was terrible to see their perfectly composed and on-top-of-everything friend reduced to pajamas at three thirty in the afternoon and crying her eyes out all day long.

They sat next to Maddie and put their arms around her, and that made Maddie break down into tears once again.

"I'm sorry," she bawled. "I wasted your time with this, and he didn't…neither of them…" Another round of tears cut her off midsentence.

Mei hugged Maddie close. "Well, I don't know about Francis, but I think Gilbert cares more than you realize," she said gently.

Maddie sniffled. "Why would you say that? You don't know what he did… He never liked me, I know it."

"We know what happened," Feliciana said, stroking Maddie's ratted golden hair. "He told us."

"What? Why?" Maddie asked, turning slightly in Mei's arms to face Feliciana.

"He's sitting outside the dorm, waiting for somebody to let him speak to you," Feliciana explained. "Alfred and Britt wouldn't let him in, so he's been out there waiting all day. He's been calling and texting you all morning too."

"I know about the calls," Maddie whispered. "But I had no idea he was just outside…"

"Why don't you at least listen to his messages?" Mei suggested. "He's desperate, Maddie. He just wants a chance to explain himself."

Sniffling a little, Maddie nodded and sat up to reach for her phone on the bedside table.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: ;n; I don't know why but the image of Maddie being so sad just breaks my heart. She always seems to have it all together, so when she loses it... But don't worry, the happy will come soon! Next chapter will be very happy, I promise :D<strong>


	14. Ich Liebe Dich and Je'taime

**AN: Are you guys ready for the (probably) second-to-last chapter? Of COURSE you are! :D This is where the happy happens. Please review and tell me if you like how it gets resolved!**

**And again, to the loser will go a bonus chapter. So don't just check out if your favorite loses!**

* * *

><p>Maddie tried to swallow back the lump in her throat as she turned on her phone. When the screen lit up, she saw that she had missed twenty calls, been left eleven voice messages, and received thirty-two texts, all from Gilbert save a handful of messages from Alfred.<p>

She wasn't quite sure how to feel about that. Was he desperate? Or just pathetic?

Or was he both, and not afraid of appearing pathetic anymore?

Maddie opened her voicemail inbox and set the phone on speaker. Soon Gilbert's voice filled her room, making her eyes water slightly.

They sat there on her bed for almost half an hour, listening to and reading every message in the order they arrived.

"Hey, it's me again. Listen, we need to talk. You don't know the whole story. It wasn't a competition, it really wasn't. I really do care about you, Maddie. Please just say you'll talk."

**Please just talk to me**

**It wasn't a competition, I swear. That was something stupid. What I feel about you had nothing to do with it**

"Maddie, I've been sitting outside your door since 10:30. Britt and Alfred won't let me in. I guess they mean well, but I really need to see you. Call me back, please."

**I understand if you think I'm lying, but I'm really not**

"Listen to me, about the competition. It was nothing, really! It was something idiotic I did because I couldn't stand the thought of Francis getting his hands on you. At first I was afraid he just wanted to screw around with you, and I couldn't take that. I couldn't stand somebody thinking about you like that. I really care so much about you. Please, call me back. Don't ignore me."

**I just hope you're reading these**

"Please don't ignore me. I can take you hating me, I know that you're hurting, but please just don't act like I don't exist. You're my whole world, and I can't stand not being there when I know I've upset you."

**I never wanted to hurt you, ever**

**I bet you're crying right now, and I hate it. Please, just let me know you're reading these messages and listening to my calls**

"Birdie, listen. _Ich liebe dich_. Ah, you don't speak German, why am I such a moron…? That means that I love you. _Gott_, I love you so much. Please, forgive me. I'm so, so sorry. Just don't cry, okay? You can hate me, you can ignore me. Just please, don't cry."

**I'd rather you just forget all this ever happened. I love you, but I'd rather you forget about me than be so sad**

**Please, just don't cry. I'd give anything to make it so you'd never have to cry ever again**

"I'm sorry. Hate me if you want, but hate me for being a _dummkopf_, not for lying about loving you. That was never a lie, ever. You've got to believe that. No matter what happens, I'll love you, Birdie. Prussian's honor. _Ich liebe dich_."

When the last message was gone, the trio of girls sat in silence, staring at the phone in awe. Maddie trembled slightly, feeling a little weak.

She'd never heard Gilbert be serious in the slightest, much less as serious as she heard him be over the phone. He wouldn't be that persistent if he was lying, would he? Had he really been out there since ten thirty waiting to see her?

"Do…do you think he means it?" Maddie asked softly.

"I really do, Canada," Mei said. "He seemed really distraught."

"Yeah, and worried too!" Feliciana chimed in.

Maddie sat in silence for a long time, staring at her folded hands in her lap, fidgeting indecisively. "I love him," she admitted after a long moment. "But I don't know if I can trust him…"

"Just go talk to him," Mei urged.

Maddie nodded slowly. "I will… But, later, okay? Once all this has gotten a chance to sink in, I'll go."

"Okay!" Feliciana clapped her hands. "How about we do some girl stuff in the meantime?"

"That sounds fun," Mei said. "How about we do manicures for each other?"

Maddie nodded, managing a grateful—if somewhat wavering—smile for them. "Thanks, you two."

They both hugged her tight. "Of course! What are friends for?" Feliciana giggled.

Feliciana dashed back to her dorm to collect Elizaveta's assortment of nail polishes and manicuring tools, and after she returned they all rifled through the colors to select one. Feliciana picked lime green and a deep crimson to paint tomatoes over the green background. Maddie chose white with a red maple leaf on it, and Mei settled on deep blue with a white sunburst, like the flag of Taiwan.

Drawing little pictures on their nails was both time-consuming and required a great deal of focus—a perfect combination for keeping Gilbert out of Maddie's head. As she painted the miniscule maple leaves onto her nails, she felt more at ease than she had felt since last night, when he'd broken her heart.

They'd just decided to do their toenails as well when there came a knock at the door.

"Come in," Maddie called, looking up to see who it could be.

Britt opened the door, looking uncharacteristically timid. "Oh, um. Maddie, could I have a word with you? Out here, if you don't mind."

Mei waved Maddie on. "Go ahead. I still have to help Feliciana with the tomatoes on her right hand," she assured her. They'd all taken turns helping each other paint the nails on their dominant hands, and Feliciana's was the only one still pictureless.

Nervously, Maddie stepped out into the living room after Britt. Alfred was still there, lounging across their couch with a big bowl of ice cream on his lap.

"That's my ice cream," Maddie said weakly.

Alfred grinned and pointedly stuck his tongue straight into the ice cream to put his germs all over it. "Well it's mine now!"

Maddie made a face. "How old are you?"

He ignored her and pointed to Britt with his spoon. "I think she has some stuff to say to you."

Slightly disappointed that her stalling hadn't worked better, Maddie inhaled deeply and turned to face Britt.

Britt flushed and shuffled her feet. "Well… You see…" With an exasperated sigh she brought her gaze up to meet Maddie's. "What I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry for what I said last night. That was my anger at Francis talking. It wasn't your fault, and it was unjust of me to blame you."

Maddie was taken aback by Britt's proffered olive branch. "Oh… Thanks, Britt. That was very nice of you to apologize. I understand, and I'm really sorry Francis did that because of me."

The blonde Brit shook her head and waved the last comment away with a flick of her wrist. "It wasn't your fault at all. He's just a sleazy prick, and that won't ever change."

"Don't say that," Maddie said. "Maybe someday, when he meets the right girl, he'll get better."

"We can hope," Britt said, but she didn't seem convinced.

"Hey, give the Frenchy some credit," Alfred said from the couch. He trapped Britt's waist with an arm and tugged her blushing and spluttering onto his lap. "Anybody can be fixed up by love. Sometimes it just takes a hero," he said with a pointed wink.

Britt growled at him. "You give yourself too _much_ credit."

Alfred ignored that and glanced at Maddie with a cocky grin. "In case you didn't notice, we're kind of an item now."

Maddie had to laugh at that. "Yeah, I figured," she snickered.

A blushing Britt shoved herself off of Alfred's lap. "Don't get too comfortable, Yank," she warned.

Maddie leaned over to kiss her brother's cheek. "Congrats," she whispered, giving him a quick hug. "I'm happy for you." When she pulled back she raised her voice so Britt could hear. "Thank you guys."

"No problem, baby sister," he said smilingly.

As Maddie straightened she finally felt the rumble of her stomach. "Oh. Have you guys eaten yet?"

"Nope," Alfred said. "You making something?"

"I can!" cried Feliciana, bursting out of Maddie's room with Mei following at a more subdued pace at her heels. "Let's make pasta, Maddie!"

The spunky Italian's excitement at the prospect of her favorite food was infectious. Maddie found herself smiling as her friend dragged her into the kitchen and began raiding their refrigerator and cabinets for the ingredients for a late lunch.

Elbow-deep in flour, Maddie, Feliciana, and Mei kneaded dough for the pasta. The work brought Maddie's spirits up with its calming physical regularity, and as they rolled the dough flat the three friends were laughing and joking as though it was any other lunch and not a consolation mission.

"Let's do fettuccine!" Feliciana suggested. "Since you don't have a pasta maker, it'll be easy to cut the noodles!"

"Okay," Maddie agreed. She fished a couple of knives out of their drawer and passed them around. The trio of friends set to slicing and laughing at each other's poor technique—except Feliciana, of course. Hers were as perfectly and professionally done as those of a master chef.

Together they dumped their noodles into the water to boil, then turned their attention to the sauce. They decided to go with chicken fettuccine alfredo, although Feliciana had to be mostly responsible for the sauce for that.

Alfred and Britt followed their noses into the kitchen soon before the food was finished. Maddie was collecting plates from the cupboard and utensils from the drawer, and Mei and Feliciana were doing a final taste test of the cream sauce. "Perfect!" Feliciana declared gleefully and began spooning generous portions onto each plate.

"This smells amazing," Alfred moaned. "Can I eat now?"

"Not yet, Captain America," Feliciana scolded. "Wait until everyone has theirs!"

Mollified by being called Captain America, Alfred settled back into his chair to wait. Britt took the one to his left. Feliciana hustled Maddie into the chair on Alfred's other side and made Mei sit between Britt and Maddie while the Italian chef served the rest of the pasta. Then she drew up a chair between Maddie and Mei—as the table only seated four—and declared, "Bon apetit!"

The hungry high schoolers complied gratefully. They ate and laughed and talked until they'd teased a smile from Maddie's still glum face. They tried to conceal it from her, but Maddie could tell that they were all giving it their best effort to make her forget her sadness. Even Britt was acting more cheerful than usual, forcing laughter at things she would normally scoff at and containing her seismic explosions at Alfred's cheesy displays of affection.

Maybe she was just still emotional, or the scene was genuinely moving, but Maddie couldn't help her world from blurring through a screen of tears and a few droplets from falling to her plate as she watched her friends doing so much to help her. When had she ever had friends like this? For the very first time, Madeline Williams was truly, deeply grateful to be at Hetalia High so that she could have all these wonderful friends at her side.

"Hey, sis!" Alfred shook her shoulder. "None of that." His words seemed callous, but the concern in his eyes was genuine and deep.

Maddie scrubbed at her eyes with the sleeve of her blue pajama sweatshirt. "Thank you," she mumbled. "All of you."

The whole scene seemed to glow. Feliciana beamed at her; Mei smiled in that soft but impossibly warm way of hers; Britt's tense shoulders relaxed slightly as her lips turned upwards in a rare smile; and Maddie's brother took her hand, rubbing his thumb comfortingly against her hand. He winked at her and said, "Well, whaddaya expect? We love you, baby sister."

Gratitude swelled in Maddie, a cleansing flood that washed away all her bitterness and heartbreak. Surely, her pain did not go away—but now she had perspective. Losing Gilbert was not the end of the world. She had all these strong shoulders to lean on when she was weak, all these hands to help her climb back to her feet when she fell. She was not alone in this, or in anything. Gilbert could still love her, but even if he didn't, these friends would not fail.

"Thank you all," she said again. Then she got to her feet. "That was delicious," she added to Feliciana, who glowed at the compliment.

"Where are you going?" Alfred asked. Her hand was still tucked into his, and when she tried to tug it out of his grasp he didn't let go.

"I think I've been in my pajamas long enough today," she said with a smile.

The others looked relieved to hear her encouraged. "I think so too," Alfred said laughingly.

Maddie rolled her eyes and reclaimed her hand. "I'll be in the shower."

The hot water rushing over her body was a welcome shock. Maddie didn't think she'd ever been so happy to take a shower in her life.

When she got out of the shower, Mei and Feliciana had gone, but Alfred was still there, playing a card game with Britt at the kitchen table. Judging by her explosive cursing, he was winning.

Maddie was back in her normal clothes—a T-shirt and jeans—and had tied her still-damp hair into pigtails. Without wanting to disturb the couple at the table, she retreated back into her room and sat on her bed. And steeled herself for what she had to do.

She hugged Kumajirou tight to her chest for comfort as she thought. She had to go see Gilbert, that much was certain, but it was so hard to motivate herself to go. It was so tempting to believe in the words he'd said in his messages, that he loved her—but the truth was, it could easily be that he was lying. And she loved him too much to be able to bear the weight of a second rejection easily.

As hard as it was to put her heart out there to be damaged once more, she knew it had to be done. Because she did love him, she had to do it. If there was even a chance he was in earnest, she had to gamble on it. Love made people do crazy things, and she was about to throw all her carefully cultivated logic and caution to the winds for this, for Gilbert.

Drawing a deep fortifying breath, Maddie got to her feet and opened her door as quietly as possible. Mei and Feliciana had said that Alfred and Britt were trying to keep Gilbert out—it wasn't likely that they would be eager to let her walk out to see him, even if it was of her own volition.

Unfortunately, Alfred wasn't as idiotic as everyone believed. When it came to school, maybe he was, but in street smarts he was actually more well-endowed than Maddie. He heard her as she snuck over to the door and called, "Hey! What are you doing?"

Maddie clenched her fists, trying to draw strength from deep within herself. "I need to go talk to Gilbert."

Alfred's objections were instantaneous and vehement, as she'd known they would be. He stood up sharply, probably ready to get between her and the door. "Are you like emo or something? You gotta like pain to want to do that."

"I know he might reject me," Maddie said softly. "But I've got to do this."

"No, you don't," he objected. He was coming forward slowly, hands outstretched toward her as if to a wild animal who might bolt. "You can just stay here and not bother yourselves with those two jerkbags anymore!"

"I can't do that!" she cried as her fists clenched harder, her voice coming out loud and sharp enough that it took the couple aback. She hardly ever raised her voice, and it always shocked when she did. "Alfred, I think I might love him. I _have_ to do this."

"But, Maddie…" He was before her now, and he drew her into his arms. "I don't want you to have to hurt like that," he said softly. "I hate it when you cry."

"He told me that too," Maddie whispered. She squeezed him back, then released him and pulled back—keeping a grip on his hands—so that their identical blue eyes met. "Alfred, you never gave up on Britt, no matter how many times she hurt you, no matter how many people told you to give it up. You loved her too much to ever turn away. Well, I won't, either. This is important to me, Alfred, and I have to go."

There was a long poignant pause. "I don't like it," he said finally. "But… Do what ya gotta do."

Maddie smiled. "Thanks, Al."

He returned the grin halfheartedly. "I hope I don't regret this."

With a final squeeze of his hand, Maddie released him and set her hand on the front door handle. She took a deep breath to fuel her courage, and then she opened the door.

Gilbert scrambled to his feet when he saw her come out. He really had been there all day—his clothes were rumpled and his hair was a mess, from what looked like constantly passing his hands through it. As always, her heart did a tap dance at the sight of his exotic crimson eyes, but this time it was even more vigorous than usual because of how startled she was by the desperation in the scarlet pools of his eyes.

"Bir—Maddie," he gasped. "I don't know—"

"Shh," she admonished. The calm in her voice and expression surprised her. "Let's go to the park or something, okay? I'm sure you're sick of this hallway, and people walk through here too often for us to talk properly."

Gilbert seemed taken aback by her composure. "Uh, okay…" He followed her out of the dorm building and to the park. As they walked, his discomfort seemed to multiply. Maddie's expression and voice were perfectly cool, without even a trace of the heartbreak he had no doubt expected to see.

But what he could not know was that beneath her unruffled exterior, Maddie trembled and clung to her composure by her fingernails, on the edge of losing herself to all the emotions he incited in her. She struggled against the urge to take his strong hand, which she'd held so few times but felt like she knew so well. She fought the waves of tears until they retreated back into her eyes. She confined her heart so that its fluttering wouldn't send it flying into her throat or plummeting into her shoes.

The night was cool, and the wind chased playfully through the park, nipping at their heels like an excited puppy. It was like they were being gently guided to where Maddie had intended to take him all along.

Maddie sat down on a bench in a secluded area of the park. She often read here or did homework when she felt like she needed some air. Their little glade was ringed by trees that cut it off from the rest of the park, which offered sufficient privacy for them to have their talk.

Gilbert sat down beside her but at a respectful distance. The gap between them seemed so wide, a chasm of only a foot. He was silent for a long moment, maybe unsure of what to say.

He started to say something, but Maddie cut him off. Her voice was unfriendly and flat when she said, "You know, if you wanted to do something to me, we're all alone now." The words shocked even Maddie. She had no idea where they had come from—they'd just spilled out on their own accord. What had possessed her to challenge him like that? What if he actually did something?

But Gilbert looked just as taken aback as she was. "_Gott_, no," he said vehemently. "There's no way I'd do that."

The speed and definiteness of his answer was…almost insulting. She'd hoped he wouldn't do anything to her, but flatly refusing to…?

He saw the look on her face and backpedaled quickly. "Oh, no, I didn't mean it like… That's not what I was saying!" Her face remained impassive. Gilbert swore under his breath. "I'd really hoped this would go smoother." He pushed his hand through his white hair and stared at the ground as he carefully collected his words. "It's not like I don't…want you…it's just… I mean, I'm a guy, and I've been a little…_loose_, I'll admit…" He saw in her eyes that he was losing her. "Okay, I've slept around a lot, alright? It's hard for me _not_ to think like that! I _do_ want you, Birdie—I mean, Maddie. But it's different with you."

"How so?" she asked, trying to hide the curiosity his statement had piqued.

"I want you, but not like I've wanted other girls," he explained. "With them, I was pretty much leading with my… Er." Hot crimson flooded his face, explosive against his pallid skin. "What I'm saying is, with you, I love you more than I want you. It's more important to me that you're happy. I'd rather protect you than get you in bed." His hands, wrapped around the edge of the bench seat, tightened as if he was having a hard time keeping them firmly where they belonged. "You _matter_ to me like none of the others did, Birdie. I see your face and not your body. I love you for who you are, not what you can give me. I want _you_, your soul I guess, not just your body."

Despite the unpracticed sloppiness of the speech, Maddie was touched by his words. His crimson eyes were earnest, and his words carried truth, or she was as deplorable a judge of character as ever existed.

Feliciana and Mei had thought him to be serious too. They couldn't all be wrong, could they?

"Then what was the competition about?" she asked, struggling to pin down the fringes of her composure when all she wanted to do was go into his arms and cry.

"It was to see who could get the first kiss," he explained. He turned his gaze from her, but not before she saw it tighten with pain. Pain that she hadn't responded to his confession, maybe? "It wasn't like we were trying to get into your pants or anything. We just… I don't know what we were thinking. It was right after we met you, and we both just fell in love at first sight. I guess it was kind of hypocritical, but we both wanted to keep you safe from the other, because I guess we both thought that the other just wanted you for a good time. So we decided to make it a competition. Raise the stakes." He winced. "It was stupid. But I just wanted you to be mine, I swear. The kiss was hardly related at all. I just thought that if I did manage to get the first kiss, then Francis would back down…

"I was scared," he admitted. "I mean, the entire thing depended on you. We were both trying our hardest, so it would come down to which of us you loved. And I didn't want to lose you. I guess _Frankreich_ threw a wrench in that for both of us though." His voice broke slightly, but he cleared his throat to hide it.

Maddie digested this. Could she trust him? _Well, it WOULD be just like a pair of boys to make a competition out of something like this,_ she thought. She wanted so much to trust him. She wanted to believe that this love she felt was real and not just a product of his whims and desires.

She remembered the break in his voice in his last sentence. Where he'd admitted she was lost to him. Would he, Gilbert Beilshmidt, proud son of Germany and strong heir to a powerful family, have come so perilously close to crying over a girl he did not love?

Her small hand covered his. He looked at it in shock, then raised eyes full of hope he barely dared to harbor to her face.

She looked away, gazing off into the trees. "I'd never had a boyfriend," she said. "Or been kissed. Or been in love. Before I met you, that is."

"Maddie…"

"I'd always been invisible, even back home where I grew up. No one talked to me, and I didn't have many friends. I wanted so badly to be loved," she said softly. "I wanted someone to notice that I was there, and notice that I was worth noticing.

"And then I come here, and suddenly I have friends right and left, and two guys seem to fall for me right away. It seemed too good to be true. Me, the invisible girl. I was _loved_, Gilbert, for the first time ever by someone outside of my family. I felt important to someone, like my existence meant something, even though the people back home had never noticed it. Here my heart is so full. I want it to stay that way."

The wind rushed into their clearing and blew Maddie's pigtails back. She tilted her face towards the sweet breeze. "I love the feeling I have here," she confided. "The world seems open to me here, and the people in it. But the thing about not having ever had friends is that I don't know how to deal with heartbreak. I don't know how to hurt. I didn't want to make a decision between you and Francis because I was afraid of pricking my perfect bubble and having to face that hurt." Her grip tightened on his hand. "My heart is just a baby. It's got a lot to learn. But…would you take it anyway?"

There was a moment of shell-shocked silence. Then Gilbert tugged her into his arms hard so that they collided in a tight embrace. "Of course," he whispered in her ear. "Nothing would make me happier. _Gott_, thank you for understanding."

Her arms locked around him as tears began to slip from under her closed lids. "I'm sorry I—"

"_Please_ don't apologize," he pled. "I don't think I could deal with you apologizing after all the crap I did to you."

"Okay," she agreed, squeezed almost breathless by his embrace. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling.

"_Ich liebe dich_," he breathed, burying his face in her shoulder and neck. "Oh, dang, I mean—"

"I love you too," she said, stroking the fine white hair on the nape of his neck. "_Je'taime_, Gilbert."

He pulled back ever so slightly to rest his forehead on hers. The backs of his fingers stroked across her jaw, painting lines of fire across her skin. "Can I…"

She turned pink, but nodded all the same.

Reverently Gilbert brought their mouths together and kissed her. It was still so unfamiliar, the warm press of his lips beckoning her to come closer, closer, to search within herself and him for the ties that bound them and venerate them forever, but she knew she would have a very long time to grow used to it.

The kiss was seasoned with the tears that continued to slip down her face, but she could still taste something different and special on his lips. It must be rare, she thought, that Gilbert kissed a girl with so much contentment and bliss, not pressing for more, not prying or demanding, being swept away by the emotions behind the kiss instead of the physical sensation.

She had to end the kiss when she began to grow light-headed. Even Gilbert was a little breathless when she leaned against his chest, listening as their heartbeats fell into synch.

He slid his hands through her golden hair. "That was, without a doubt, the most awesome kiss ever," he told her.

Maddie smiled against his chest. "Thank you."

A moment of contented silence passed between them as they held each other contentedly. "So, any way we can convince your brother not to kill me?" he asked nonchalantly.

She giggled. "We can always try."

His lips pressed into her hair. "But we should stay here awhile first."

"I agree." Right now, there was nowhere else in the world Maddie would rather be.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: AWWWWW! I love Gil's confessions. So awkward but sincere :3 I rewrote them like four times because I wasn't sure how to make it in character but still sweet! Hopefully it worked out :)<strong>


	15. Tying Up Loose Ends

**AN: Well, this is it, guys, the final chapter! I've enjoyed sharing this with you so much. You guys are the best readers anyone could ask for! :) Be sure and stay tuned for the bonus chapter though to see what it would have been like if France won!**

** Please check out my other fics too, I'd love it if we could keep on enjoying this incredible fandom together :D Right now I have a FrancexJoan of Arc in progress, and I have a GerIta Little Mermaid and a Spamano that involves bullfighting coming soon. If you want, in the reviews you can request GerIta or Spamano and I'll begin posting whichever gets the most requests first!**

**Please enjoy the final chapter! Love you guys! 3**

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><p>Gilbert felt uncharacteristically nervous as he sat down on his brother's couch. He felt as exposed as if he was walking through furious gunfire without so much as a helmet as he met the furious blue gazes of his brother and his girlfriend's twin.<p>

The pair of them looked like murder in their purple plaid school uniforms. "So," Alfred began with a calm he so obviously did not feel. "Maddie seems to think you're madly in love with her and never meant to hurt her."

"It's true—" Gilbert began, but was cut off by Ludwig.

"We're talking," he growled, silencing his younger brother with his glare as effectively as with a gag. "And we're not letting you get anywhere near Maddie until we have some answers."

Gilbert obediently shut his mouth. Normally he would have gotten angry at his little brother for treating him like a disobedient child who needed a spanking, but in this instance he felt a surprising lack of fury. He was almost glad people like his overprotective, intimidating brother was helping watch out for his Birdie.

"Now," Alfred said. "How many times have you made out with my sister?"

The directness of the question hit Gilbert like a hammer between the eyes. "What?"

"You heard me." Alfred folded his arms and glared the elder Beilshmidt brother down.

"That's totally unawesome of you to ask," Gilbert said, doing his very best not to return the glare. "That's mine and Birdie's business."

"So you _have_ made out!" Alfred crowed.

"Of course," Gilbert snapped back. Birdie was awesome, but her twin brother sure got on his nerves.

"Watch yourself," Ludwig warned crossly. "Not everyone makes out after the first date."

"Just cuz it took you like six months to get up the nerve to kiss Feli doesn't mean we're all pansies," Gilbert sneered. "I'm more awesome than that."

"You're not impressing me," Alfred warned.

Gilbert tried to moderate his voice and expression, but he still sounded sulky when he said, "It's still none of your business."

"Did you know that where I come from, it's considered sexual harassment for someone eighteen or older to date a minor?" Alfred said nonchalantly, studying the cuffs of his white button-down school shirt. "And Maddie happens to have a dual citizenship. So as an American citizen, she's protected by that law, which means I can—"

"Fine!" Gil interrupted. "Twice, okay? Once after our first date—which hardly counted as a make-out because it was her first kiss—not that it wasn't awesome, but she's inexperienced—" He hurriedly shut his mouth when he saw the bloodlust leap into Alfred's eyes. "Uhm. And once when we made up yesterday," he finished quickly.

If Alfred had the superpowers of the heroes he claimed to be like, Gilbert likely would have been dead on the spot, roasted by laser vision or smote by a bolt of lightning.

Mercifully, Ludwig took over and saved Gilbert from certain destruction. "Were you the instigator either time?" he asked.

"Not really. It was kind of a joint thing. The first time was right after she confessed to me, and we met halfway. The second time I kissed her, but I asked permission first."

That seemed to relax the interrogators slightly. Then Alfred asked, "Did you kiss her anywhere but her lips?"

"Sister complex much?" Gilbert grumbled under his breath. "Um, I kissed her hands once after she scraped them up, and her hair… Oh." He reddened slightly. "And…her neck. But it wasn't really a kiss, I just kind of had my face there, and it was just for a second!"

Alfred still looked angry. "You did _what_ to my sister?"

"Oh, can it, Yank," Britt said irritably from her chair. She'd asked to sit in on the Inquisition, but hadn't shown any inclination to be involved thus far. "You were kissing my neck when I got here just a few minutes ago. It's a part of snogging. Besides, girls love it. I'm sure Maddie was in heaven."

That didn't make Alfred look any happier. Instead he launched another question at Gilbert. "Did you do anything I'd want to kill you for?"

Gilbert stared at him. "Didn't you want to kill me for kissing her neck…?"

"Aside from that!" Alfred said impatiently.

Figuring from that vague standard that anything he had done to her mouth with his was fair game, Gilbert shook his head. "I don't think so. I didn't touch her anywhere bad or anything. I swear, I'll be an awesome gentleman to her. I really do love her, Alfred."

Alfred stared him down, then glanced questioningly at Ludwig. The younger German shrugged helplessly. "As shocking as it is, I really don't think he has any plans to…er, _do_ anything to her. Either he got better at lying in the past month, or he's telling the truth."

"I think he looks like a man in love," Britt interjected. "He's got that moony-eyed look."

Gilbert bit back a comment that might get him in trouble and sat waiting for the verdict. Although neither Alfred nor Ludwig could really do anything to keep Maddie and Gilbert apart, between the two brothers they could make the new couple's life much harder than it needed to be. If Gilbert could find a way to get along with Maddie's twin, then life would become much easier for him.

Besides, winning Alfred's approval was almost the same thing as getting her father's approval. Whether she realized it or not, Maddie saw Alfred as a mixture of a brother and a father figure—while she had spoken before of missing Alfred when her parents separated, she had never once said the same about her father. She looked up to Alfred; she admired him and sought his good opinion. Maybe that was a twin thing, but Gilbert knew that she would value Alfred's agreement to let them date more than her father's.

Alfred heaved a dramatic sigh. "Fine. I'll let you date my sister."

A wash of relief put a wide grin on Gilbert's face. "_Danke schon, _Alfred!"

The blond American held up a warning hand. "But if she ever cries again because of you, you're a dead man, you hear me? And if you so much as _think_ about…"

"I won't," Gil promised hastily. "Prussian's honor."

Alfred regarded his albino prisoner for a moment longer before nodding decisively. "Okay then! As long as you promise to take good care of her, I'll let you."

"Thank you." Gilbert got to his feet. "I promise, I'll treat her awesomely."

"You'd better." Alfred's aggressiveness had melted into a smile though.

Ludwig looked as disgruntled as ever. "You be good to her," he warned.

Gilbert was already at the door, but he paused to answer over his shoulder. "You know I will, _bruder_," he replied. "Have I ever been serious like this before?"

"_Nein_," Ludwig admitted. "I believe you, _bruder_."

"Thanks, kiddo." He grinned and gave a little wave as he vanished out the door.

Gilbert trudged against the wind that had sprung up overnight, bringing with it an even deeper chill. Soon winter break would start, and then there would be Christmas, and New Years, and then Gilbert's final semester as a student at Hetalia High.

_So little time_, he thought, a bit sadly. But it wouldn't end, he was sure. What had begun to change in his heart wasn't going to melt away like the snow—it felt…permanent. What Maddie had done to him, what she had become to him, was now a part of him forever. The year of age that separated them might send him off to college sooner, but he wouldn't let that stop him. He'd choose a university close to Hetalia High and he'd visit her.

Snow had just begun to waft down from the steely gray sky when Gilbert neared the girl's dorm. He paused to look up at the sky and watch the flakes drifting down, leisurely and unhurried as if they had no fear of melting.

"Gil!" Gilbert stumbled back slightly when he was hit square in the chest by an eager blonde girl. Maddie smiled up at him. "What did Alfred want?"

With a slow, fond smile, Gilbert put his arms around Maddie and held her close. "Nothing to be concerned with," he told her, stroking her golden hair.

She nuzzled into his chest slightly as she reddened. One of the things he found cutest about her was how embarrassed she became at odd moments, like once she was already in his arms.

Gilbert hesitated. There was something he'd been thinking about since yesterday, and he was trying to decide what he should do. Well, he knew what he _should_ do, but it was the total opposite of anything he actually _wanted_ to do.

Still torn, he tilted Maddie's chin up to look her in the face. Those awesome clear blue eyes stared back at him quizzically, noting the indecision in his own red ones.

Finally he said, "Hey. We need to go talk to somebody."

Maddie cocked her head in confusion. "Who?"

He released her but kept hold of her small hand, wishing he wasn't so dang fair whenever Maddie was involved. She made him feel guilty for behavior he wouldn't have thought twice about until recently. And that meant that this loose end just couldn't be left loose. "You'll see."

o~O~o

Maddie's joy at seeing the snow falling was overwhelming. She felt almost like she was home as the flakes fell around her and bit into her cold exposed face and hands.

Except, home didn't have Gilbert there, and his strong hand holding hers was a firm anchor to reality. Home had ceased to hold the allure it once did. Her mama was there, of course, but here she had Gilbert and Alfred and Feliciana and Mei and Elizaveta and Ludwig and Kiku and Yao and everybody who'd ever shown her kindness. Home was where the heart was, and here was the only place her heart had ever known fulfillment and true happiness.

She swung Gilbert's hand a little, and he smiled at her. "Almost there," he said.

The path was beginning to look familiar to Maddie. A bit of easiness stole into her voice as she asked, "The boy's dorm?"

He nodded. "My dorm, to be exact."

Maddie tried to stifle the little voice that screamed, _He duped you after all!_ She'd decided to trust him. _He wouldn't… He'd promised…_

_He said he wanted you,_ the mistrustful voice reminded her.

_I love him,_ she defended. _I trust him not to try anything on me. Besides, if he'd wanted to, he could have done something yesterday._

Albeit stiffly, Maddie followed him the rest of the way to the dorm. The whole way she warred with her instincts. She wanted to trust Gilbert, but it was rather hard to do that after he'd hurt her so badly, whether he'd meant to or not.

Gil unlocked his door and opened it for her. "Come on in," he said, beckoning her inside when she hesitated.

Maddie stepped inside carefully, fighting desperately against herself with every step. She wanted to leave, but she forced herself not to. _I wonder, what am I trying to prove?_ she thought to herself. _And am I trying to prove it to him, or to myself?_

Her nervousness mounted even more when Gilbert led her towards the doors in the back where the bedrooms were. Her hand tightened in his. "Gil, what are we doing?" she asked, her words muffled by the sleeve she was using to hide her mouth. Her cheeks were flooded with crimson.

"Huh? Oh." Gil flushed slightly too, as if he'd just now realized what this looked like. "This isn't my room," he assured her. "I made you a promise, and I'm keeping it, I swear."

She squeezed his hand, avoiding his eyes. "I—I'm sorry, it's just…"

He brushed his knuckle across her cheek. "I know, it looked pretty unawesome. I'm sorry about that; I should have told you. No, this room… It's Francis'."

Maddie's stomach churned dangerously, and no words would come from her gaping mouth. All the ripping pain from that night sent waves of red across her vision.

Gilbert knew the pain he was causing her, because he flinched away before he could see the agony wash across her face. Without waiting for her response, he rapped on the door with his knuckles.

"Gil, I can't… I can't deal with this," she squeaked.

"I know I'm acting really unawesome right now," he whispered, not looking at her, "but I…you…_we_ have to do this. He really did love you, I think, and it isn't fair to him to just leave it like this." His crimson eyes were full of pleading when he finally raised them to her face. "He's my friend, Birdie."

Maddie drew close to Gil, half-hiding behind his arm. "I'll do my best," she said softly.

Gil's hand tightened on hers. But before he could say anything, Francis opened the door.

"Maddie," he gasped softly, his gaze passing straight through Gilbert. "What are you doing here?"

She averted her eyes from his deep sapphire ones. They were crushing with their beauty. Francis was, and always would be, one of her first loves. He was her almost, her could-have-been.

But the fact was, he wasn't. She'd made her choice. Still, there was a part of her that couldn't help but love him, even as she hated him for hurting her.

Gil cut in, saving Maddie from having to answer. "I brought her here so you could apologize."

Francis looked sorrowful. "Thank you, Gil," he said with real gratitude. Then he turned to Maddie. "_My dear—no. I'm sorry. You're his now._"

Maddie nodded and slid her arms through Gilbert's. The lean strength of his muscles was an anchor to clear-headedness under the force of Francis' breathtaking eyes. His use of their common language put a lump in her throat. Somehow, it had always felt like an intimate secret between the two of them, the familiar syllables and words from home that they always used to talk to each other. "_Yes_," she replied.

"_Maddie, then._" His grin was strained. "_I'm so sorry for what I did to you, for what I said… It was childish. I couldn't stand it, seeing Gilbert kiss you…_" He passed a hand over his eyes. "_You must forgive me. I just… I loved you. I still love you. It was jealousy that made me act the way I did, but that's no excuse. I loved you, but I didn't know how to do it properly._"

Maddie scrubbed at a tear in her eye. Gilbert's arm was tense between hers, and his jaw was set in a hard line of strain. Yet he didn't allow his jealousy to prompt him to action, or complain that the apology was made private by a language barrier he could not cross with his rudimentary French, or give voice to the pain Maddie was causing him by crying for Francis. For what she might have had with him.

"_Thank you,_" she whispered. "_I can't say I'm sorry things worked out this way, but I feel sad that you're alone._"

Francis chuckled darkly. "_Don't be. Knowing myself, it won't be for long._"

She winced at that. "_You shouldn't be like that anymore. It's just hurting your heart._"

"_I know,_" he mumbled. "_But it's kind of a habit now._" He stroked a thumb across her cheek, and Maddie's eyes flew wide in shock.

Gilbert caught Francis' wrist. "Too much," he growled, glaring his roommate down.

"Sorry," he said sheepishly. "Habit."

His baleful crimson glare didn't turn away. "Yeah. Those can be controlled, you know."

"Controlled…" Francis smiled. "Yes, I suppose they can." He turned his gaze to Maddie. "I'll try to control my habits from now on. Thank you—both—for that."

Gilbert's arm went around Maddie's shoulders protectively. "Please do."

Francis stepped away from them. "Best of luck to both of you," he said. "Thank you for thinking of me, Gil. I know that was hard."

For the first time that day, Gilbert's smile came easily, like a weight was gone from his chest. "Let's never fight over a girl again, okay?" he said with a crooked grin.

"Deal." Francis and Gilbert bumped fists in a complicated handshake. "Friends?"

"Friends. As long as you stay away from my girl."

Francis smiled at him. "I will. Cross my heart."

Gil returned the smile with more ease than Maddie had expected. His arm slipped around Maddie's waist. "Well, we'll be off then."

"_Au revoir_," Francis said, and shut his door.

Gil slid away from Maddie and fell across the couch with a loud sigh. "Well. Glad that's over."

Maddie sat down in the space between his head and the arm of the couch. "I'm glad we did it, though. You were right; we owed it to him." She slid her fingers through Gilbert's hair timidly. It was as fine and soft as it looked.

"Can I put my head in your lap?" Gil asked suddenly.

Maddie turned furiously crimson. "Uh…I guess so…"

Her boyfriend wriggled up until his head rested on her lap. "Ah," he sighed. He caught one of her hands and brought it to his lips, kissing the palm softly. His lips were slow, pensive. "You…you don't still love him, do you?" he asked quietly. He punctuated the end of the sentence with another kiss to her palm, as though hiding from the answer.

"No," she said. "I mean, there's a part of me that still cares, but… I think it will fade."

"Mmm." His mouth didn't leave her skin, but she could tell he was upset by that.

"How I love you is so much bigger than how I care for him," she assured him. A blush covered her face at the admission, but she had to make it. "You don't need to be jealous."

"Who said I'm jealous?" he bluffed. The way he averted his eyes gave his deception away easily.

Maddie giggled at his childish antics and leaned down to rest her forehead on his. "Oh, nobody."

He threaded his fingers through the ones of the hand he still held. "Okay, maybe a little."

"You shouldn't be. When I was crying yesterday," he flinched at that, "it wasn't because Francis didn't care. It was because you didn't. It was you. It was always you."

He inhaled deeply. "Well, that was a nice ego boost," he teased.

Maddie rolled her eyes and lifted her head. As if he needed one of those.

"Hey, get back down here," he complained. "We just had a moment! Where's my kiss?"

Maddie flushed deeply. "Ah! I…"

"Fine, I'll come get it," he grumbled, but his eyes were full of teasing as he leaned up to capture her lips with his.

Maddie's lips met his, still a little unsure, but his were steady and guided her through the kiss. She thought that it was like they were sealing a bargain on their mutual feelings with a kiss.

It wouldn't upset her at all if that bargain meant spending her whole life side-by-side with Gilbert Beilshmidt.

He was a punk, and an idiot, and high school romances never worked out. But she didn't care. Maybe what they had was enough to make a fairy tale come true in her life.

She sure hoped so.

o~O~o

Maddie was collecting her things to leave the newspaper club room when Francis sat down directly across from her, fingers steepled and eyes serious.

"_I have a special assignment for you,_" he said.

She looked at him strangely. "_And what assignment would that be?_"

"_I want you to write an article on the new transfer student that will be coming here from Seychelles!_" he announced grandly. "_Transfer students are big news, as you know, and you're the best researcher we have!_"

Maddie sighed. "_I suppose I could… But I hope you know I don't feel comfortable doing this._"

"_Don't be such a stick in the mud!_" He winked at her. "_Remember, last time transfer students showed up at this Academy, things turned out pretty well for a certain German and Brit._"

Maddie blushed. "_W-well… Okay… Okay. I'll have it in by Friday._"

"_You are a godsend!_" he cried. "_Thank you!_"

She couldn't help but laugh a little at his enthusiasm. "_You're welcome. Well, see you tomorrow, Francis,_" she said, heading towards the door.

Gil was leaning against the opposite wall from the doorway, waiting for her. He did this every day. His afterschool activity, welding—which was actually a class, but the work required was too much to fit in one class period—was near the newspaper room, so he dropped by to walk her wherever she was going afterwards.

Sometimes she suspected it might be a little more than that. Welding wasn't _that_ close to the newspaper room, and she knew that Gilbert still felt a little insecure about leaving her and Francis alone together.

"Hi," she said shyly. She knew Gilbert thought it funny when she became shy at random times, but they were never random to her. Like now, seeing such and handsome and perfect guy lounge against a pillar, waiting for _her_… Sometimes it seemed almost too good to be true.

He gathered her into his arms for a quick kiss. "How was your day?" he asked. "Awesome?"

She giggled. She'd found since she started dating him that he tended to grossly overuse that word, but she found it kind of cute. "Yes, pretty awesome. Except for Francis wants me to write a gossip column on a student coming in from Seychelles."

Gilbert laughed. "Come on, Francis' paper survives on gossip. But you gotta admit, he pulls it off really well."

Maddie nodded ruefully. She'd never seen a school newspaper with the success of Francis'. Regular newspapers hardly had a readership among the young anymore, but Francis' was almost a must-read for the students and faculty of Hetalia High.

"Hey, you never know!" Gilbert crowed as they started off down the hallway. "Maybe it'll be a girl and Francis will fall for her!" He added under his breath, "So he can stop moping around so much."

"At least he's doing better," Maddie defended. "He hasn't been suspended recently, and you said he's hardly flirted with anyone for a few weeks."

"He looks kinda sick though, like he's having withdrawals," Gilbert laughed. "It'd be awesome for him to fall in love again and have somebody to hit on."

Maddie laughed. "Well, maybe we could let him flirt just a little? To help him?"

Gilbert shook his head. "Once you've really been in love, hitting on just any girl isn't as awesome as it used to be," he said. His hand squeezed hers, and he drew her close to press a kiss to her hair.

Maddie blushed. "T-thank you, Gilbert," she whispered.

"What are you thanking me for?" he asked with a laugh. "I didn't really do anything."

"No… You did. With you, I don't ever doubt for a second that somebody cares about me… That's never happened before."

Gilbert's scarlet eyes were full of an emotion she couldn't unravel—a mixture of sorrow and happiness and purpose. "You'll never have to doubt it again," he said gravely, with uncharacteristic seriousness. "I promise. I'm not going anywhere."

Maddie's heart was so light and buoyant when she was around Gilbert, and she couldn't help but believe that this feeling she had was true love. No matter what storms came their way, they would be able to face them, together.

That's what love was about—about fitting like puzzle pieces, filling in where the other failed. Gilbert had made Maddie stronger and surer than she had ever been before, and she had made him down-to-earth and able to be serious. Together they were better than they had been before.

And that was why this, this love she felt, had always been inevitable. Her life had changed the moment she decided to come to Hetalia High, for here she would find happiness the likes of which she had never known and a love she could never have imagined.

_This is a magical place,_ she thought. _A place that put me in the paths of so many good and wonderful people… A place that changed my life so much…_ Her hand tightened in Gilbert's, and her heart burst into full flower in the dead of winter. _Well, it couldn't be anything less._

**Fin**


	16. Crazy In Love (Alternate Ending)

**AN: Sorry for the long wait, guys, but here's the bonus chapter I promised! When I set out to write this fic, I honestly had no idea who Maddie would end up with, and then I kept switching opinions as I wrote. I was really happy that I ended up getting to do an ending for both of these guys! They're both fabulous and they both love Maddie so much :3**

**In this alternate future, Francis never told Maddie about the competition and she ended up dating both of them for a while before settling with Francis. Hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Maddie knew this should be a happy day, but all she wanted to do was cry.<p>

It had been almost five months since she began dating Francis, and she had been dreading this day for almost as long. The day when everything would change—the day that hit harder than a ton of bricks because it emphasized just how little chance she had of standing at Francis' side in the years to come.

Graduation.

Francis was a senior, and Maddie was a junior—she had one year left of high school, while he would be advancing to university. She had done her best not to remember that. Her days with him had been too happy to waste in mourning for a day far off, but before she knew it the dreaded day had suddenly snuck up unseen. Whenever he drew her close now, she held onto him with the desperation of the unknown. How could this work out? What if Francis wanted to go back to his home country to study? Would he be too busy for her even if he was within reasonable distance to see her? Besides, there was no telling what he would do when he was so far away. Here she would be sure to know if he ever cheated—on such a small and isolated campus, nothing was secret—but how could she be sure he'd be faithful when he was out from under any eye that might carry tales?

Honestly, Maddie was just waiting for a goodbye. If Francis didn't say it, she would. There was just too much uncertainty. She didn't think she could handle being with him but apart from him and not being able to trust him to act faithfully, even if she wanted to.

The graduation ceremony was being held in the gymnasium of the school, since the campus was too small and isolated to warrant renting another facility. The graduating seniors were seated on rows of chairs on the floor, and the families and friends in attendance sat in the bleachers. A stage had been erected at the front of the gym, where the principal and other staff members were conducting the ceremony. It was halfway over now—the valedictorian, salutatorian, and class president had all given their speeches, and the principal was rattling through the list of names. The As were already done, and the principal was just beginning on the Bs.

"Gilbert Beilshmidt," she announced. Maddie watched the confident albino German cross the stage with a swagger to claim his diploma. The sight of his ridiculous levels of self-assurance made her crack a much-needed smile. Her smiles had been rather rare for a while now, ever since how close Francis was to leaving her fully hit her.

It hadn't worked out between Maddie and Gilbert because of the dramatic difference between their personalities, which Maddie had realized soon after she began to go out with both Francis and Gilbert to get to know them better—his drama and overeagerness had rather frightened her off. But they had remained friends, and it made her happy to see him striding off the stage like a puffed-up canary, proud of himself for graduating.

The principal called the next name. "Francis Bonnefoy."

Maddie's heart seized painfully as her boyfriend strode across the stage, as heartstoppingly handsome as ever, holding out his hand for the diploma.

When the principal set the roll of paper in his hand, a tear slid down Maddie's face. _It's over. I don't know why I ever let myself believe that this could be real…_

Francis looked out over the crowd with a winning smile, and their eyes met. She was far away enough that she could force a smile for him that would look believable, so she did. This moment would be precious to him for the rest of his life—she refused to ruin it with her own misery.

Thinking it real, Francis returned her smile as he walked off the stage. Maddie scrubbed furiously at her tears as soon as he looked away—she didn't dare let him see her wipe away tears while he watched. Now she had to press the heels of her hand into her eyes to keep the sobs from bursting out of her heaving chest.

She felt wretched for being so miserable when she should be happy for Francis. _I'm such a selfish person_, she thought sadly. But she'd never loved anyone as much as she loved Francis. Even five short months of being with him had been enough to show her that. And the thought of that ending… She felt like there was already a hole in her heart where Francis would be ripped out of it all too soon.

o~O~o

The ceremony ended, and square-topped tasseled graduation caps flew into the air. A triumphant roar rose from the graduating class as friends clapped each other on the backs and hugged and cried with happiness and nostalgia.

Maddie got to her feet, swallowing her sadness. She wouldn't let Francis see how upset she was. At least she could spare him that. But later today, she would have to tell him she was calling it quits. Tomorrow, everyone would take their belongings and go home for the summer—tomorrow, it was really over.

Francis rushed up the steps to the bleachers. His family reached him first; they had all flown in to see him graduate and to take him home afterwards. Maddie hung back a respectful distance, congratulating other seniors that passed, and allowed Francis' family to have their rightful place at his side during this important moment.

He hugged them all and smiled and chattered away with them all in French, but soon his eyes began to drift over their heads, searching. When that melting sapphire gaze she had fallen in love with alighted on her, Francis held out his hand to her with an almost unbearably joyful grin and motioned for her to join him.

Shyly Maddie slid through the throng of his family to reach him. When she arrived at his side he grabbed her into an embrace and kissed her firmly. She could feel his jubilation through the contact, and it made her want to cry again; but she swallowed the tears and kissed him back as enthusiastically as she could.

He pulled back and squeezed her tightly. "_Can you believe it? I'm really finished with school_," he said wonderingly.

"_You still have college left, young man_," his mother scolded, but her voice was full of fondness and pride.

Maddie clung to him with all her strength and buried her face in his chest to hide the wash of tears at the mention of his impending departure.

Francis smoothed her hair and dropped a kiss into the spun gold waves. "_Are you coming to the dinner_?" he murmured to her.

"_If you want me to_," she responded. "_But I thought I'd help Alfred pack. This is important to your family and I don't want to be a bother_."

He chuckled. "_You're never a bother, my love_," he told her warmly.

The lump in her throat thickened, and tears rimmed her eyes. "_How about I just see you afterwards? We could meet in the park before we have to be back in the dorms_."

There was a pause. "_If you'd like that_," he said finally. "_Are you sure you don't want to come_?"

She nodded into his chest. "_Have fun, okay_?"

"_Promise_." He tilted her chin up to look her in the eyes. There was an intensity to his eyes that belied the lightness of his voice. "_Are you alright, my love_?"

She nodded firmly. "_I'm fine, just a little sentimental_," she assured him, forcing the best smile she could muster.

He smiled back after a moment's pause and kissed her. "_I love you, Madeline Williams_," he told her seriously when they broke apart.

It took all she had not to burst into tears. "_I love you too, Francis_."

He released her unwillingly. "_I will see you later_."

She nodded, not trusting her voice to remain steady, and fled.

o~O~o

The sultry wind of a summer night caressed Maddie's face and tossed her hair as she waited on the park bench for Francis, considering what she could say. She hadn't helped Alfred pack like she said she would—instead she'd called him once and run down a list of things he had to remember not to leave—because she didn't want to be around anyone right now. Her emotions were too volatile. She felt on the verge of tears every second, and likely would until she got this off her chest.

A familiar form stepped into the pool of light cast by a nearby lamppost. "Maddie," Francis said.

Maddie got up slowly. At the sight of him, in all his golden godlike perfection that always stole her breath, all her carefully scripted words fell to dust in her mind. "_Francis, I… I have something I want to talk to you about_."

A humorless, almost pained smirk stole across his face. "_Okay, but first, let me tell you: I've never been dumped before, and I wouldn't want to start tonight of all nights_."

Her heart hit the concrete. It took her three tries to ask, "_You knew_?"

"_Darling, why do you think I didn't insist you attend my graduation dinner even though I wanted you there more than anything_?" he asked with a tense half-smile.

Tears filled Maddie's eyes, and against her better judgment she ran into his arms. He had to stagger back a step to catch her, but she hardly cared.

"_Then you end it_," she sobbed. "_If you don't want to be dumped, then you dump me_."

"_Why would I do that_?" he asked, hugging her so tightly her ribs creaked. "_I love you, Maddie. I don't want to leave you, ever_."

She wailed into his chest, "_Stop! Stop making this so hard for me_!"

"_I'll make it hard_," he said stubbornly. "_So hard that you won't be able to leave me_."

"_But…how can we… It'd never work out_." Her hands fisted in his shirt. "_You live in France, and I live in Canada. I'll be coming back here, and you'll be going to college. It's not…_"

"_Maddie, were you lying when you said you loved me_?" he asked fiercely, his strong arms tightening their grip on her. Somehow, even though the strength of his embrace was bordering on pain, it wasn't tight enough. She wanted him to hold her forever and never let go, ever.

But she couldn't answer his question. She had to let him go. Why couldn't he just accept that? This was already causing her enough pain. The tears slipping from her eyes were hot on her cheeks.

"_Answer me, please_," he begged. "_Did you or did you not lie to me when you said you loved me_?"

"_No_," she admitted finally. "_I never lied about that_."

"_Do you still love me now_?"

Her voice was hoarse and soft, almost imperceptible. "_Yes_."

"_Then how could you even think about doing this to us_?" he asked, drawing back and leaning down to look her in the eyes. "_I love you. You just said you love me. What else is there to it_?"

"_There's life, Francis_," she said miserably, casting her eyes away from his soul-deep blue ones. "_And in life, things don't always have perfect fairy tale endings_."

"_That's because people don't believe in fairy tales anymore_," he whispered, swiping at her tears with his thumb. "_So they don't try hard enough to make them come true_."

His lips caressed hers ever so softly and chastely, but with heartbreaking reverence and love. "_You are my fairy tale come true, Madeline_," he told her softly, leaning his forehead against hers. "_And I will overcome anything so that we can be together. Anything that stands between us won't dare to get in our way. I love you so much; you know that, don't you? If you just say you'll fight for that love, then we won't ever be parted in this life, my darling. Just say you'll fight for me, and we'll be together always. I promise_."

Maddie was sobbing, and her thoughts were all a useless jumble. For her whole life, she'd led with her head—but now that it was in chaos, her heart's voice answered, "_Yes. I'll fight for us. I will._"

Francis let out a relieved breath and brought their lips back together. "_Thank you, my love. Believe me, I'll find a way to stay by your side, no matter what. Sound like a plan_?" he asked, smiling slightly.

She nodded, managing the slightest laugh. "_We must be crazy_."

"_I'm crazy in love with you, my beautiful one_," he murmured, nuzzling into her neck.

"_That's kind of corny_," she told him, still slightly breathless from his kisses and the sensation of the words he spoke against her skin.

"_Yes, a little_," he chuckled. "_But true nevertheless_." He raised his face to look her in the eye. "_I meant it all, you know. I haven't known you long, but…_" He trailed off, maybe unsure if it was too soon for him to say what he'd been about to say.

Maddie nodded. "_I know what you mean_."

Their lips met in yet another kiss, this one slow and smooth and melting. A lifetime of this, a lifetime of standing by his side. That's what Francis had been about to promise her. Maybe someday he would, when he was able to—but for now, his agreeing to fight for a future where he could make that promise, no matter the obstacles in their way, was enough.

She had echoed that promise with the headstrong voice of her heart, and she knew deep down in her bones that it was the voice she should follow this time. Not her head, but her heart would lead her to a happiness she had never known. Because, this, him—that was a future worth fighting for, no matter how crazy the undertaking was.

Maybe she was crazy, but if she was crazy in love, then that was fine by her

* * *

><p><strong>AN: Well, that's the end of this story! I hope you guys will check out my new stuff, including my two forthcoming fics ^^ Thanks for all the love and support, and I hope to see you all again real soon!<strong>


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